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Insurance subcommittee backs switch to Blue Advantage HMO to limit network disruption
Summary
The Skokie SD 69 Insurance Subcommittee recommended moving the district HMO to BCBS Blue Advantage after consultants warned Advocate would be dropped from the HMO IL network, potentially affecting nearly 50 members. The change would take effect July 1, 2025; five current HMO members using Northwestern Memorial Hospital would be directly affected by the Blue Advantage switch.
The Insurance Subcommittee of the Board of Education of School District 69 met Jan. 9, 2025 and recommended that the district pursue a move from the current HMO IL plan to the BCBS Blue Advantage HMO for the 2025–26 plan year.
Dr. Margaret Clauson, superintendent, told the committee the Board retains final decision-making authority but asked the subcommittee for input on options to contain premium costs and limit member disruption. Nancy Bellosa, EBC account representative, presented nine plan-change options and said terminating the HMO IL Plan and offering Blue Advantage was estimated to generate approximately 5% in premium savings. Bellosa also presented an HMO Disruption Report indicating "only 5 current HMO plan members would be impacted by a change to the HMO Blue Advantage Plan" because they use Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which is not part of Blue Advantage. The subcommittee concluded that switching to Blue Advantage would mitigate a larger disruption tied to an unrelated provider negotiation.
Bellosa also informed the committee that EBC was notified that BCBS and Advocate had not reached an agreement and that "Advocate will be dropped from the HMO IL Plan," a development that would affect just under 50 members if District coverage remained on HMO IL. Committee members and district administrators said the combination of Advocate leaving HMO IL and the Blue Advantage network difference made a switch a prudent administrative recommendation to bring to the Board for its Jan. 14 review. The committee did not record a formal Board vote; it "concurred with the administrative recommendation" to move forward with the Blue Advantage change, with an anticipated effective date of July 1, 2025.
Next steps: staff will include the subcommittee recommendation and disruption analysis in the materials for the Board of Education's Jan. 14 meeting and will work with impacted employees individually to discuss options (PPO enrollment or provider change) if the Board approves the switch.
