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Interim superintendent: district faces double‑digit health‑insurance premium increases next year
Summary
Interim Superintendent Dr. Hubbard told the board the district’s EBC loss ratios put it in higher premium tiers: PPO loss ratio 135.5% (projected PPO increase 20.8%) and HMO loss ratio 114.6% (projected HMO increase 17.4%); the district and its agent will provide a claims breakdown in coming weeks.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Hubbard told the Forest Park SD 91 Board of Education on March 12 that the district faces double‑digit increases in health‑insurance premiums next year and explained the metrics driving that projection.
Dr. Hubbard said the district participates in an Employer Benefits Cooperative (EBC) of roughly 162 districts that pools buying power. He reported the district’s PPO loss ratio was 135.5% "for every dollar we paid the EBC this past year, they spent a dollar 35 and 50¢ on us," and said that puts the district into a higher premium bracket with a projected PPO rate increase of 20.8% next year. For the HMO plan he said the loss ratio was 114.6% and the projected increase is 17.4%.
A board member asked whether the increase was driven by higher unit costs or by increased utilization (more or larger claims). Dr. Hubbard replied that it appears to be a combination of both and said the district’s agent will provide a breakdown of the claims in the coming weeks; he emphasized that the agent’s reports provide aggregate counts, not individual medical details.
Dr. Hubbard said he shared a graph with the board the previous week and that the district has absorbed rising costs in past years but that, for next year, a larger increase is expected. He said administration will share more information with the board as final numbers are received.
Why it matters: double‑digit premium increases could pressure the district’s operating budget and require budget adjustments or changes to plan offerings; the administration flagged further detail to come from the district’s benefits agent.
