Kentucky Teachers walk out over health benefits...

[therock1811]

Schools all across Kentucky are shut down this morning. Teachers are protesting the state's health insurance proposal for 2005. And NOW there's talk of STRIKES???

Schools In 5 Districts Close Monday In Protest Of Fletcher Health Plan

Schools in five Northern Kentucky school districts will be closed Monday as teachers protest Governor Ernie Fletcher's new insurance plan for Kentucky public employees.

Teachers will rally at Holmes High School to voice their opposition to the benefit plan that they say will drastically increase the cost of health care for school teachers as well as state employees.

They say they're also rallying for better funding for school programs.

The school districts that will be closed Monday include.

Boone County
Covington
Erlanger
Grant County
Kenton County
Pendleton County

The Campbell County school district will not close its schools on Monday but plan to have a rally during after-school hours.

According to an Associated Press report, Fletcher won't even be in the state -- much less the country -- on Monday.

Fletcher left this weekend for an "economic development" trip in Europe.

A national study shows that Kentucky teachers and state employees are paying a bigger share of the costs for their health insurance than public employees elsewhere.

As a result, the study says that teachers and state workers in Kentucky paid the highest monthly premiums for family coverage of any state employees nationwide in 2003.

The figures are contained in a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The study comes amid a proposal by Governor Fletcher to change health insurance plans for workers and teachers.

BTW this report had the number wrong...that's 6 local districts...and there's many more across the state!

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2004/local/09/26/ky_schools.html

[therock1811]

Here's where I found that there may be a strike in October:

Boone County School Board Supports Teachers' Protest

A showdown is brewing between Kentucky's Governor Ernie Fletcher and state employees -- including teachers and public school employees.

One local school board has decided to give students the day off next week so teachers and other school staff can protest.

It all started when Governor Fletcher announced an overhaul of the health insurance plan for state employees.

For teachers this could translate into 20% increase in their out-of-pocket medical expenses.

"It makes us feel, feel unappreciated and belittled," said one school staff member.

"It hurts," said another, "because the contribution that the state is making right now is one of the lowest in the United States."

It affects more than 170,000 state employees -- health insurance premiums are going up, and coverage is going down.

Boone County teacher Regina Elliot says her out-of-pocket expenses for prescriptions alone will triple, from $100 a month to $300.

According to Elliot, everything is going up.

"This is pretty much a take it or leave it situation for us as far as health care," said Elliot.

And that's the fear -- that Kentucky's teachers and other public school or classified state employees, will leave it.

"If something doesn't happen to give us some relief our teachers are going to go across the river to Ohio to make more money," said Helen Cottingin, a Boone County school bus driver, "and our classified employees will be working at McDonald's for better health care."

Since he announced the plan, Governor Fletcher has taken a lot of heat.

Teachers will protest this Monday and they're planning to strike in October if their 2004 health benefits aren't reinstated for 2005.

The governor says he's trying, but he inherited a budget crisis.

"There are adjustments that we can make that will help address their concerns," says Fletcher, in a recent press conference, "and we look and find that we can do that, then the means we have then we are willing to do that and we not stopped."

"We all have budgets that need to be fixed, personally, but we feel he's giving this health care issue too big a hit," said Elliot.

And so the Boone County school board has approved a school calendar change Monday, giving students in essence a "snow day" to be made up at the end of the year -- and that will allow teachers to make their protest.

Source

[Miss Mary]

Jeremy - my youngest daughter Laura was quite envious of the kids that benefitted from this extra day off. Her words - those lucky kids.... But seriously, I can understand where the teachers are coming from. Year after year, the small company my husband works at has had to impose higher and higher patient copays for health insurance, b/c premiums have more than tripled in the past 3 or 4 years. It is to the point now where I question if one of us needs to see a doctor. Is it strept or viral, etc. Questions similar to that. It's easily $60 each time one of us needs a doctor - $30 office copay and one Rx $30 copay. Sometimes the doc writes two Rx's. Then you add the monthly meds several of us are on now that total close to $120 right now. I honestly have talked myself out of appts. to avoid the bills.

Mary

[streetsoldier]

Mary,

If I didn't get my Rx "free" from the clinic (through the generosity of pharacutical companies who supply "samples"), my bill would be $300+ per month.

This goes to two things the President wants to enact;

1) Place caps on malpractice suits (which will lower insurance costs for doctors and permit them to stay in practice), and

2) Allow small companies to "group" themselves, so that they can afford the discount health coverage presently enjoyed by large corporations.

[stormie_skies]

I have never seen any evidence that tort reform lowers health care costs. In fact, Texas implemented a cap on punitive damages for medical malpractice suits a couple years ago, and from what I understand doctors insurance rates have actually gone up....and just because the hospital benefits (if it even does) does NOT mean that the consumer will benefit....

Do you know of any statistical link between the two? I would like to see it...

[GalvestonDuck]

Kentucky teachers...now there's an oxymoron. (And I speak from experience.)

[chicagopizza]

Doesn't Europe offer free healthcare to their citizens? I love the US and am very glad to live here, but wonder how government subsidized healthcare would affect the country. Many go bankrupt from the cost of healthcare and the economy takes the hit in the long run.

[streetsoldier]

Some European countries DO offer "womb-to-tomb" health care to their citizens; along with housing, social services, etc...but at a cost of between 60-80% of the average citizen's income.

Frankly, I LIKE having my own money to spend, or save, as I see fit.

[David]

i wish kansas would do this.. cant get our kids to school anyways with our horrible bussing...

[chicagopizza]

that the cost was so high in Europe both financial and emotional.

Certainly, I am VERY happy to live in the US and would not endorse a system that takes away from my freedom that way.

However, I have a friend whose mother had a heartattack and could not afford insurance. She made too much money to be considered poor and too little to carry her employer's health insurance. They ended up losing everything and had to claim bankruptcy.

I, myself, worked for an employer who made me pay for my own insurance for a while-I was an office manager for a small firm-and waited to visit the dr because I couldn't afford it. A simple cold turned into pneumonia and I ended up missing work and using vacation days to do it. Meanwhile, my employer-a nice enough person-had a $250,000 house and went to the dr whenever they wanted.

It is still better than living in another country, but there are many whoose freedom of choice to go the the doctor is taken away fom them because of the rising cost of health insurance.

There should be a law that will not allow a medical bill to ruin your credit report, but doctors are suffering from malpractice insurance costs rising dramatically and they need the money too. It's a catch 22.

[therock1811]

Well a strike has been avoided as Governor Fletcher signed a bill Tuesday night giving teachers and other state employees better benefits. Here's the story from WCPOTV Channel 9:
KY Senate Passes Health Insurance Plan, Teachers Call Off Strike

Reported by: A.P./ 9News
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
10/19/04 11:03:47 PM

State teachers have voted to call off a threatened strike.

Kentucky Education Association (KEA) officials met Tuesday night in Frankfort, hours after legislators passed a proposal to sweeten 2005 health insurance benefits.

KEA president Frances Steenbergen called the night, "history making."

Earlier, both chambers of the General Assembly signed off on last-minute changes to the state plan.

The action capped more than two weeks of a special session.

Governor Ernie Fletcher signed the new proposal Tuesday night, after returning to Frankfort from a previously scheduled appearance in Nor then Kentucky.

The event was a gala fund raiser for the Scottish Rite Foundation in Covington.

The teachers voted to cancel their planned October 27 strike about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

When Fletcher announced next year's state health insurance proposal, it was met with a huge public outcry.

Teachers were angered over hikes in rates and deductibles. They threatened to walk off the job if their original benefits weren't restored