MEA Health Plans Attacked
In late January, Tony Payne and the Alliance for Maine's Future attacked the MEA Health Benefits Trust that provides health insurance for 68,000 educators and their families.
Without credible evidence and contrary to sound insurance practices, Payne claims he has the right snake oil formula to save Maine taxpayers $30 million; he would do it by fragmenting the Benefits Trust and having small towns self-insure.
In an Alliance newsletter, Payne riles up taxpayers by telling them that health insurance is the "most expensive public employee benefit" and that it is provided by the MEA without "clarity or transparency."
He then goes on to describe how one town, presumably his hometown of Falmouth, has a self-insured municipal plan with comparable benefits that would save taxpayers over $300,000 if it were applied to Falmouth's teachers.
From that he extrapolates a $30 million savings statewide if all school districts were allowed to self-insure for health insurance.
What Payne artfully neglects to say is that Falmouth's municipal employees are covered under Maine Municipal Association's health insurance plan, not a local self-insurance plan; its benefits are different; it does not cover retirees as MEA plans do; and, it is in southern Maine where health care is less expensive.
Payne encouraged voters to contact their legislators to push for changes in educators' health insurance. MEA's response to Payne, which was shared with legislators, is simple:
If it's not broken, don't fix it. The MEA plans have been in existence for over 50 years. They are efficient and well-run, with an excellent cost-to-benefit ratio. They are designed to cost the same in Ft. Kent as they do in Portland and provide health insurance coverage to non-Medicare retirees at the same rate as active employees. No competing plan has been able to match or exceed our performance record.
Fragmentation would hurt taxpayers, schools, and educators. The only way self-insuring town by town can save money is to take unreasonable risks, eliminate retirees, or throw rural Maine under the bus. For a small insurance pool, one expensive catastrophic illness a year is a challenge, two would be a disaster, and three could end the plan. None of these options is in the public interest.
Crippling the MEA plans would be grossly unfair to educators. In the 1980s Congress voted to deny Maine teachers their earned Social Security benefits. In the 1990s the Maine Legislature voted to significantly reduce teacher retirement benefits. Over the last decade, Maine's teacher salaries have dropped from 31st in the nation to 43rd. 85% of America's teachers are now paid more than their peers in Maine. The only substantive benefit left is health insurance; if that is taken away, teaching will become a pathway to poverty and many Maine families will suffer.
The MEA Benefits Trust would seriously consider self-insurance, if the legislature authorizes it. MEA plans already cost less than the self-insurance plans used for State employees and University of Maine employees. We remain committed to providing high quality health care at the lowest possible prices.
"Tony Paine's goal is not to improve public education or support educators, it is to cut costs," says MEA Executive Director Mark Gray, "and, as a former insurance company executive, he knows the best way to do that is to reduce insurance benefits and transfer costs to employees."
"In short, the Alliance would like to weaken the MEA, fragment the MEA Benefits Trust, and throw public school educators in the shark pool."
The Alliance for Maine's Future is a pro-business, anti-government, anti-tax group that supported TABOR and repeal of the Excise Tax. It supports free market capitalism and opposes employee associations and unions.
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