Muskego School Board Makes Decision On Insurance, Saving $2 Million

Scott Ecker, Director of Business Services for the (MNSD), said he surprised himself in making a new recommendation for a plan option for insurance coverage for district employees.

Previously recommending Humana, Ecker said the other carriers 'further sharpened their pencils' and brought new numbers in that couldn't be ignored.  Citing "an aggressive climate of health insurance" Ecker said the costs for a new option (option 4) with United Health Care "yielded savings ...beyond what was anticipated" to the tune of more than 27 percent and $2 million to the district. Ecker told the board he switched his recommendation to United.

For district employees, the move retains more than 96 percent of the providers that they currently have, and will cost only $5 more in out-of-pocket costs than Humana. In addition, employees with a family plan will save $450 annually versus what they would pay out-of-pocket with the WEA Trust plan.

The savings made some on the board ponder what could have been saved if they hadn't had to stay with WEA Trust in previous years.

"Have we been paying $2 million more, and I know that's not the case, and our employees paying more on their premiums than they should have? To me that's the only disappointment," board member Eric Schroeder said.

Superintendent Joe Schroeder congratulated the committees and Ecker for their work, stating that the decision was a "fair and substantial resolution of this issue, and anyone who looks at this objectively could see why we've chosen to go with this option."

He felt the move would help to "safeguard programs for our kids," while positioning the district in the short term for better rates and the ability to continue working with an insurance committee to conduct research and learning.