Indianapolis (AP) - A new report says health insurance for Indiana's public schools and universities could cost at least $450 million less annually if they joined the state's plan for public employees.
But most of the savings would come through stingier health plans or higher out-of-pocket expenses for teachers, professors and other employees.
The analysis from a consulting company found that it would cost public schools and universities about $270 million to get the same level of insurance they're getting now.
The report said the state would save money by pooling more employees in its health insurance plan and through other methods.
The idea of moving public schools and universities to the state's health insurance will likely be an issue in the 2011 legislative session as lawmakers work on a new two-year state budget.
This is a horrible idea. We have good coverage (really we do). I would hate to see us move to a plan that provides less coverage for more money.
ReplyDeleteReally, IPS teachers, when have we REALLY had a choice? I thank goodness that my provider has always accepted (pick one....) MetroHealth, M-Plan, Clarian, Anthem, Something for one year, and Dis-Advantage.
ReplyDeleteYes, our coverage is better than many professionals. I'm just glad my kids are grown and I'm single now. I plan to work until 65 because of our health coverage.
The only problem is that I know several state employees and the coverage is horrible. It is an ok plan if you have no claims or if you do not use any prescription on a regular basis. Horrible idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteForcing employees into the plan of state employees would be wrong. State employees deserve a lot better and we do too.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone now the current state insurance plan details?
ReplyDeleteI know that you have to pay several thousand dollars in prescription drug costs before the insurance starts paying. Perhaps as much as $2000 or $3000.
ReplyDeleteThe people I know that work for the state have better coverage than we do and for about the same cost, at least for the employee. I would like to see the details broken down. I am not happy with Advantage and their limited connectionsl. No Clarion is a huge detractor for their program....
ReplyDelete@This is a horrible idea. We have good coverage (really we do).
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with your comment. IPS does have good coverage. I'm no longer working with IPS, but I opted to use COBRA and am currently paying the full monthly premium for a single insured person with Advantage. The full premium is $565.00 per month. My spouse is healthy, a non-smoker, and a non-drinker and is a medical professional in private practice which means there is no group insurance. My spouse's monthly insurance premiums are $920.00, and the coverage with Anthem Blue Cross is not as good as mine through IPS.
I don't care for this idea unless it save ME money too.
ReplyDeleteme...me me.....me You just demonstrated the problem with not only our educational system but with our country.
ReplyDeleteDid Dr. Johnson file for bankruptcy in Marion county? It looks like she filed in Florida thinking no one would find out. Just another sly trick by a vindictive bitch.
ReplyDeleteHas Brandon Cosby been removed as Principal of Shortridge? If not, it time to take it to the next level. At a school board meeting for the city to see what is actually going on. This will make Dr.White do something.
ReplyDelete"""I don't care for this idea unless it save ME money too. """
ReplyDeleteQuite frankly, we are fortunate to be working in a career where "group insurance" is available. The self-employed people of our country usually do NOT enjoy the significant savings from having "group insurance" at their disposal. As a single teacher in IPS and using Advantage as my health insurance, I'm paying approximately $1900.00 per year out of pocket for premiums. On the other hand, the true cost of my Advantage health insurance through IPS is $6780.00 per year. That's a $6780 health insurance package for less than $2000 annually which is a true benefit! I don't know how teachers here in IPS can gripe about health insurance costs for a single insured person. We got it good and don't realize it!!
Dr. Johnson filed for bankruptcy in the Indiana Southern District Court which is where anyone here in Indy or surrounding areas would file.
ReplyDeleteIN RE: Li Yen Koo Johnson
ReplyDeleteCASE NO. 09-11081-JKC-13
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
Debtor shall pay $1260.00 per month commencing August 30, 2009, until all allowed claims are paid in full. Further, debtor shall turn over one-half of all income tax refunds during the life of the plan.
I am still amazed that an educated person can have $70,000 in credit card debt and still be able to buy homes and lots in Florida and a home in California. I have no idea if she owns a home in Indy or is a renter. I think someone needs some counseling.
ReplyDeleteFor Pete's sake! Leave Li-Yen alone. Okay she's educated, basically useless at her job and filed for bankruptcy. I don't really care. I'm more concerned with things that affect my health conditons which require for just ONE treatment per month $3300 of which I pay just $125. This is good. Let's not mess with it.
ReplyDeleteLi Yen is just an example of the culture of greed at the Ed. Center. She represents the Eugene White attitude of "let's ger what we can and screw the teachers". It is seems strange that that many mortgages could be obtained on a salary of $117,000. There are all kinds of formulas and debt to value ratios and debt to income ratios. You are correct. She is useless at her job.
ReplyDeleteThe mortgage on her California condo owned jointly by Johnson and her daughter was for $260,000. It was a sub-prime loan for an extremely low entry level interest rate which was variable on a yearly basis with the killer feature in fine print of adjusting on a monthly basis. She is not as smart as a 5th grader. When she was getting all her mortgage loans a few years ago, the mortgage industry was actively promoting all manner of enticements for the foolhardy to buy into. Evidently she began using her several credit cards to cover her living expenses which caused her credit card debt to exceed $70K. That was a desperate act and not well thought out. One would accurately guess that Johnson got caught up in the "having" mode.
ReplyDeleteThe medical insurance for the State of Indiana is horrible, and has a $500 up front cost for prescriptions, then a co-pay. You have to pay half of the doctor's visit, the insurance is better than nothing. I will take the insurance only if the adminstrators have too.
ReplyDeleteIs Li Yen homeless now??
ReplyDeleteThe $500 upfront for prescriptions is for the Cadillac level of coverage. The regular level is between $2000 and $3000 for prescriptions before you can start paying a co pay and getting some coverage. The Advantage plan is not great but compared to the state, it is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI can't compare without knowing the particulars. Does anyone have a link or anything? I mean I feel stupid saying, "I'm against it because an anonymous person a blog said it was bad."
ReplyDeleteWhen will the board or state pay the SAME amount of insurance for singles and the family plans? I feel the families get more than we singles. It's their choice to have a family and I shouldn't have to pay.
ReplyDeleteOkaaaay. A single plan costs $6560 and family 14,409. This is pre-board contribution. Singles pay about $60 a pay and family people about $160. Why do you think you are paying more?
ReplyDeleteThis blogs biggest failure is the lack of oversight. Moderator(s) do your job. Get rid of the off topic posts.
ReplyDeleteThe 40-50% of people who post here and act like adults, be vocal and reclaim this blog from the mean-spirited, and slatternly.
The blogmaster wants the name dropping and personal insults to be a major part of this blog. That was his/her main purpose for starting it and he/she has made it clear that any other discussion is in addition to, not instead of, personally insulting and embarrassing people. He/she calls it "venting."
ReplyDeleteWe've actually had more grown-up postings in the last couple of days then we've had in months.
Wow that's sad, and well quite honestly sick. If it's true the blogmaster(blogchild?) needs to get their rocks off like that then I guess not all adolescents are busy playing world of warcraft. It must make the students so proud to know that an IPS teacher like that could be their very own teacher.
ReplyDeleteI've read the blogspot terms of use and this site has wandered into libel many times... I'm surprised no one has reported them yet.
Libel involves proving something is a lie. I'm quite sure IPS Central Office is shaking in their boots and heels about the true statements being posted. They deserve everything they are experiencing.
ReplyDeleteLibel for what??? Libel for printing info that is part of the public record......someone needs to discuss the legal basis for libel.....
ReplyDeleteI think the salary of 117,ooo that keeps getting quoted is incorrect. That might have been an earlier salary, but she's had several raises in the past few years. I think her salary is much higher. There was a blog earlier that listed the salaries of ED center folks, but I can't find it. Help, anyone?
ReplyDeleteLi Yen Johnson's salary is 163,862.00 That's a lot of shoes
ReplyDeleteIndiana Barrister?
ReplyDeleteJohnson's published salary of $163,862.00 includes all her benefits, such as group health insurance, group life insurance, etc. The bankruptcy court lists her annual salary as $117,000.00 and her monthly gross salary as $9750.00 as of the date the bankruptcy was filed in July, 2009.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, in her list of assets is $350.00 for personal clothing.
For years, IPS Central Office has lied to get rid of people that questioned their wrongdoings. IPS-BS has created a level playing field for teachers and support staff. We are able to post the truth about what has been going on within IPS without getting terminated. They say "the truth shall set you free." We are free of feeling the consequences of telling the truth. Thanks Blogmaster.........
ReplyDeleteA few administrators also put posts on this site. Some of them get upset with the Ed Center, too.
ReplyDelete$350 would not pay for one pair of shoes for Yi Len Johnson......I would be so humiliated for people to know how irresponsible I was...Johnson must know that in every meeting and every school she enters that people will be talking about her financial ignorance.
ReplyDeleteWhoever posted "IPS is shaking in their boots" get a grip, as Lewis Black would say "You are deeeluuuuuded". Then he would waggle his bony fingers at you. When you talk like that we see it as the self-indulgent puffery it is.
ReplyDeleteWhoever posted "IPS BS is leveling the playing" field, no sense arguing with you... You can't win an argument with an idiot. I've read from the 2009 posting upto this months and have yet to see this site accomplish anything. Andy G's and Matt T's articles aside, since their name is on those articles they get credit for them.
Perhaps the next topic could be "Has this site accomplished anything? changed anything? Improved anything? Two years of blogging and I'm guessing it's all about the venting(bitching).
Whoever has such a hard on for Johnson not sure what she did to you but I'm guessing it must of hurt pretty bad. Whether its one person posting or more not sure, don't care. Maybe she deserves it.... but that sure makes me wonder what you deserve. Perhaps the bitterness and hate being displayed is excatly what you deserve.
Whoever posted that admins post things here, well you can't prove that so your statement is worthless.
Libel is when someone posts Johnson is Dr. White's mistress and you have no proof (pics, reciepts, etc) and you haven't caught them in flagrante delicto. Ask Abdul what it means he normally trolls around here somewhere looking for stories. Hell you might even be right about it, but without proof you look, well you look like malcontents at best.
The board contribution is over $7800 more for families. Give singles and families the same. Maybe we singles wouldn't need to pay anything
ReplyDeleteA wonderful article in the Washington Post about Teach for America and how they are peforming in the classroom: According to a new analysis reported in the Washington Post:
ReplyDeleteStudies indicate that students of novice Teach for America teachers perform significantly less well in reading and math than those of credentialed beginning teachers.
The report goes on:
...Even in the limited cases when TFA has a positive impact, it is consistently small; other educational reforms may have more promise such as universal pre-school, mentoring programs that pair novice and expert teachers, eliminating tracking, and reducing class size in the early grades.
We have decent insurance, my brothers have health insurance one from a medical company and the other Rolls Royce, I have a better deal with Advantage. My brother had a out of pocket expense/co-pay of $6,000 for surgery and three week stay in the hospital with his health insurance.
ReplyDeleteThe Teach for America article also says that the ones who stay on longer than two years do slightly better than traditionally trained teachers. I have no opinion about TFA one way or the other, but if you're going to quote the results of the study, don't leave out the parts that give away your bias.
ReplyDeleteThis is from ISTA about the insurance program that Mitch is demanding that teachers buy into to save money.
ReplyDelete--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS
Indiana State Teachers Association
150 West Market Street, Suite 900
Indianapolis , Indiana 46204-2875
Office: 317 263-3400
800 382-4037
FAX: 317 655-3700
800 777-6128
________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Moving State Education Employees to State Insurance Plan
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Contact: Mark Shoup, ISTA Communications, 317-263-3369
ISTA questions mandated state insurance plan
for school employees
INDIANAPOLIS - Responding to a report released yesterday, the Indiana State Teachers Association questions the creation of a government-controlled insurance monopoly that would simply transfer the costs of health insurance paid by individual school or university employees to higher premiums, higher deductibles and reduced coverage.
According to the report, two-thirds of the supposed savings are achieved through reducing benefits and increasing employee contributions.
During yesterday’s state budget hearing when the report was delivered, supporters failed to acknowledge the sacrifices that have already been made over the past decade by school employees at the local level, exchanging salary increases for adequate health benefits for employees and their families.
ISTA believes that employee health care decisions are better made at the local level rather than being dictated from Indianapolis.
By its own admission, the Indiana Department of Education reports that only five school corporations have joined the state insurance plan. “Working with their administrators and school boards, our teacher and educational support leaders from across the state have told us that they have already examined the state insurance plan in detail,” said Nate Schnellenberger, ISTA President. “They have found that there would be little or no savings to their schools by making the switch to the state insurance plan.”
ISTA offers that the report does include some scenarios that deserve further consideration relative to reductions in administrative costs and consultant fees.
-30-
What is the difference between the health insurance plans for teachers vs. administrators? Do they pay less?...more? Or, do both plans provide the same coverage for the same price?
ReplyDeleteGot a question for you -----
ReplyDeleteDo you believe that IPS employees who use tobacco products should pay higher health insurance premiums than those who don't?
When purchasing a life insurance policy, people must give a urine sample to check for tobacco use. Non-tobacco users pay life insurance premiums that are far less than tobacco users.
Would you be willing to submit a urine sample to rule out tobacco use if it meant your health insurance premiums were less than tobacco product users?
Lifestyle choices (i.e., smoking, drinking more than moderately, lack of regular exercise) do have an impact on medical costs for those enrolled in group health insurance plans.
Life insurance companies do not do urine testing for group policies. That is why belonging to a group that secures life, medical or disability insurance is so valuable. No pre existing condition clauses or physicals. Next someone might suggest DNA testing as genetics plays a factor in so many conditions.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, yes, I wish they would give extra charges for poor lifestyle choices (not genetic conditions or irreversible preexisting conditions). Why should my premiums go up because I work in an unhealthy district or an unhealthy state. I don't drink, smoke, I eat right, get exercise, and use maybe $200-300 of health coverage annually. I pay the same as people who abuse their bodies in every imaginable way until they need thousands of dollars to keep them functioning, without them having to stop abusing their bodies. It's funny how the "lets all be the same" people are NEVER the ones giving more than they get.
ReplyDeleteDo you believe that IPS employees who use tobacco products should pay higher health insurance premiums than those who don't?
ReplyDeleteI live near nurses who work at St. Francis and Methodist. They are subject to random urine tests. If alcohol is found in their system, they immediately are required to pay more for their health insurance. That's fair, in my opinion. But, I'm obese, and would not be surprised to have my rates increased due to my nutritional and exercise choices. After all, airlines are charging more for those who reqire two seats.
Sorry, replace "alcohol" with "nicotine"
ReplyDeleteIt's late.
I wonder if you would include the lifestyle choice of working for IPS as one that would cost people extra. I know so many IPS teachers that are on medications for nerves, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression and high blood pressure. Eugene White contributes to much of this. Wo would you penalize IPS teachers who suffer health consequences for working a superintendent who bullies and intimidates his teachers, degrades his teachers and generally mistreats his teachers?
ReplyDelete@I wonder if you would include the lifestyle choice of working for IPS as one that would cost people extra.
ReplyDeleteThat's an immature comment, for sure. I suppose since we've talked a bit about 'lifestyle choices' that working in IPS does qualify as a 'choice'.
Short of choosing our parents and our DNA, most things in life are 'lifestyle choices'. For example: where we live, where we work, what we eat, how much we eat, if we imbibe in adult beverages, if we smoke, if we exercise, how we react to difficulties, if we are happy, if we are miserable, and so on and so on.
Each 'lifestyle choice' does carry a consequence, either good, bad, or neutral.
For the most part, we are our own masters.
If you can prove Eugene White has caused you medical problems, you can file a civil suit. Otherwise, you're just an unhappy employee like a million others in the world. It's a shame, but other people don't cause your stress and related health problems. Your choices and reactions do. Have you thought about counseling. I know you'll take that bitchy, but your obsession with IPS administration and intentionally choosing a forum to keep fueling your anger so that you don't accidentally let go of it has to be an unbelievable burden to carry 24/7. I think some sort of professional help would be much more helpful than an administration change or a different job or whatever you think is making you this angry.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me a change in superintendent would alleviate most of my problems. If I were the only one, you make be able to make the claim that I am an unhappy employee. The truth of the matter is that you would be shocked if you knew how many IPS employees were being treated. Even my physician tells his patients who are IPS employees that they need to find a more caring working place. During the summer, I quit taking most of the medications as things return to normal until school starts and Eugene starts telling us how worthless we are.
ReplyDeleteBut YOU make the choice to be in IPS and therefore choose to play the role of victim. Your health is obviously a concern and when you sign in each morning, you make a choice to be there to apparantly jeopardize your health. You know what IPS is, good or bad. You are choosing to let it get to you. Honestly, you have to admit that it is not simply the superintendent. If he was gone it would be someone or something else. The superintendent is one of many problems in IPS and one change would not solve all of them for you or any of us. And how does this all serve the students? They supposedly come first. Some walk that walk, others just talk. Like a previous poster suggested, counseling might be of service to you to discover the roots of your real problems. Again, one person, even the superintendent, simply does not have that kind of control over me. The question is: Why does he have it over you?
ReplyDeleteListen to your physician then!
ReplyDeleteAs you said, " Even my physician tells his patients who are IPS employees that they need to find a more caring working place."
First of all, I teach in IPS, and White has never once called me worthless or made me feel worthless. So either he is harassing you personally, which is illegal, or you are "jumping in front of the target" and taking general comments he makes about problem teachers and turning them into insults directed at you.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, if you ARE a teacher, he has repeatedly made statements about how lazy you are,...how uncaring you are....how incompetent you are....either you are uninformed or in denial..........You are naive if you think that working conditions and culture of the work place do not impact on a person's health. I think you must be Mary Louise Bewley. However, I do pay my bills on time and I have never had any property foreclosed.
ReplyDeleteWow. Just wow.
ReplyDeleteIf YOU are really a teacher, I'm sure you would qualify for disability until you can retire. You should look into it. I mean it. It would solve your problems, and that way you could be sure that you're not projecting your issues onto the kids. Something to think about.
ReplyDelete@Believe me a change in superintendent would alleviate most of my problems.
ReplyDeleteFirst, allow me to say that I'm an IPS teacher in a community high school. I do not especially like Dr. White or his modus operandi (nor have I ever especially liked any superintendent w/out reservation); however, White personally would not know me from Adam's cat if he met me face-to-face on the sidewalk.
As a result, I do not take anything he says about IPS teachers as a 'group' in a personal manner. He has not called me out 'to my face' ever. Yes, he's arrogant, pompous, a master of intimidation, and lacks good manners w/employees -- that's his gig, his MO, his thing. Just because he's pompous and arrogant in general I do not let him 'inside my head'and do not let him control me. It's my choice to refuse to allow him control over my feelings.
Now, if the man personally pulls me aside, browbeats me, and/or belittles me, then it's a different story. I learned a long time ago that the only things I can control are myself and my reactions to outside forces. I can't control old Eugene, but I surely can control how I react to his statements about teachers in general. I also learned a long time ago not to take myself and my feelings so seriously. He's just a big old bag of wind, and I'm not gonna have a stroke or become emotionally/physically ill just because of his bad manners.
Excellent, excellent post. I agree 100%. (I'm the other IPS teacher who posted above.)
ReplyDeleteGene White, Willie Giles, LiYen Johnson, Jane Kendrick, Joan Harrell, Prudence Bridgwater, and Minetta. Richardson will be out of a job in less than twelve months. White will retire when the IDOE takes over, thus leaving the others unprotected.
ReplyDeleteMinetta Richardson is an excellent administrator and a hardworking individual. I had the privilege of having her as a principal the first 5 years I returned to teaching. IPS needs her - she is totally honest, upright, fair and committed to excellence. I don't know about the others but do not put her in a class with anyone you might think is not doing their job.
ReplyDeleteHow will LiYen Johnson pay her bills if she loses her job???
ReplyDelete"How will LiYen Johnson pay her bills if she loses her job??? "
ReplyDeleteShe wasn't paying her bills WITH a job.
White is not going to retire. He is being wine and dined by the Federal Dept of Education...whose administration has decided White would be a good fit and bring fresh ideas to the country.
ReplyDeleteHopefully he is being wined and dined by the DOE. just leave IPS....
ReplyDeleteI don't believe for a second anyone at the DOE is wining and dining Eugene White, not one of his schemes has actually worked.
ReplyDeleteWhy would the federal DOE want a failed superintendent who intimidates his staff, is a bully, has spent his district into bankruptcy and almost every program he has started has failed or never been given a chance to work. A man who has surrounded himself with people who can't do their jobs and caters to the needs of the his relatives and the relatives of his close buddies.
ReplyDeleteWow!!! Sounds like Dr. White does not have a loyal fan left within IPS. This is sad because the black put so much hope into his efforts.
ReplyDeleteWhite lost his credibility when he tried to make Arlington a community high school, John Marshall a community high school, and Northwest losing more than 50% of their students. ACHS been through five principals, JMCHS had four principals, and Northwest has less than 700 students. The DOE wants Gene White???? Please! !!!!!!
ReplyDeleteShould have been the "black community"
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell difference does it make whether you meant "the black" or "the black community" It means the same damn thing and it's ignorant as hell.
ReplyDeleteMy community is multiracial and multicultural. Just on my street of about 20 houses, we have four races, two families of first generation Americans (Asian and Hispanic), a gay guy, and two single moms. To the person who thinks "black" is a community, what's your community like?
ReplyDeleteMy community is so black that if we had a big time soccer game at Arlington HS you would think you are in South Africa. The horns would really make it look and sound like South Africa.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say your workplace. I said your community. Where you live. Where you shop. Where you worship. Where you take your kids to the park (or where the big kids ride their bikes to play basketball). Unless you live outside of Indianapolis, I'd be willing to bet big money that you don't live in a single-race community. So stop talking like it's 1950 with separate communities for every religion, ethnicity, and race.
ReplyDeleteI've been all over Indy, and sorry to tell you there are both black and Hispanic communities, communities where 90% of the residents are a single race. Fishers and Carmel are mostly white, but the other neighborhoods in Indy are basically mixed race, I know mine is, the segregation here is mostly economic, if you can afford it, you can live there.
ReplyDeleteThat being said everyone, all colors, put a lot of hope into Eugene White, and we are all disappointed.
Color is not the issue. Any superintendent who behaves like ours does is a disgrace to the entire HUMAN race. He could wake-up tomorrow and be purple and green, with yellow spots, and IPS would still be a disfunctional mess. Period. End of discussion.
ReplyDeleteIf Dr. White had any love for kids and Indianapolis, he would resign and move on. He loves stating to the school board to fire him because he wants his money. Sad situation.
ReplyDeleteEugene White is an equal opportunity abuser. He respects no one, bashes almost everyone except for his close minions and cares even less for the students.
ReplyDeleteI had a state job before I came to IPS, and unless things have changed drastically since I left four years ago, I had good health insurance under their plan...and it was the least expensive plan.
ReplyDelete