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A.  The District’s contribution for member insurance benefits shall be one-thousand four dollars ($1,004) per month per eligible employee for the 2011-2012 and one thousand ten dollars ($1,010) per month per eligible employee for 2012-13.  In addition, the district will add the additional amount of $40,650 to the 2012-2013 school year insurance pool. Less than full-time insurance eligible members shall be provided with a pro-rated amount.  Employer contributions shall be applied toward the purchase of health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits.  Members shall be responsible for payment of the long-term disability premiums through payroll deductions.

B.  Payroll deductions will be available for member insurance premium contributions over the stated District obligation in Section A.

C.  The insurance plans offered to members shall be selected by a committee of six (6) persons, three (3) to be appointed by the District and three (3) to be appointed by the GBEA Executive Council. Changes in plans or types of coverage will be made only by mutual agreement of the parties.

D. The District will continue to offer the following:

 

E. The employer shall contribute a portion of the insurance premium for members who are scheduled to work more than sixteen (16) hours, (.4 FTE) per week but less than full-time.  The employer's contribution shall be prorated based on the normal full-time workweek.  Members who work less than .4 FTE will have the employer's contribution prorated if they elect to participate in the insurance program.  When two (2) members are spouses or domestic partners, they may combine their insurance benefit dollars toward the premium costs of health, dental, vision, and life and long-term disability benefits.  Beginning with the 09-10 school year, members will pay the LTD premiums.


F. The District's contribution for medical, vision, dental and life insurance benefits shall be pooled.  Members opting for medical, dental, and vision insurance whose premiums exceed the cap will have the excess premium cost benefits provided in this article covered by the insurance pool to the extent available. Beginning with the 09-10 school year, LTD premiums will not be part of the pool.


G. An insurance pool will be established.  No District insurance contributions shall be considered “unused” for purposes of the OEBB until distribution of benefits has occurred as described in this section. The pool amount will be the total FTE of the membership times the employer’s contribution for that school year.  The pooling payment formula will be established each year during the month of September.  If insurance coverage adjustments during the school year exceed the total yearly contribution by the District, the difference will be covered by the District so as not to alter the pool after the beginning of the school year.  Each year before excess dollar amount is calculated and refunds are issued, such dollars resulting from mid-year coverage adjustments will be deducted from excess pool dollars.  Mid-year adjustments will not result in any change in pool allocation to members for insurance premiums from that allocation made the previous September.

If unused pooled insurance dollars exceed $50.00 per eligible member annually, for those eligible to receive a refund, the excess dollars in the pool will be returned to the members each year who did not receive pool contributions.  This refund will be made during the month of June.  Payments will be prorated by FTE to these members.  If no refund of unused dollars is made, the remaining dollars will be carried over to the next year’s pool.

If the pool does not cover the cost of the insurance premiums each month, payroll deductions will be made to pay the excess cost according to the following formula:

 

Example:  A member's monthly medical insurance premiums exceed the employer's monthly contribution limit by $50.00.  If the percentage paid by the insurance pool equals 60%, multiply $50.00 by .60 to find out how much of the $50.00 will be paid by the pool each month.  In this example, the pool would pay $30.00 each month and $20.00 would be payroll deducted.

The surviving spouse or dependent of a member who dies during the period of this agreement may continue the insurance coverage for the life of this agreement at the cost of the survivor(s) subject to the provisions of the carrier and/or COBRA regulations.


H. The District shall give access to, and information about, the District-offered 125 Plan, including dependent child care and adult day care, to all bargaining unit members at the time of the annual enrollment period.  The plan shall allow for payment of out-of-pocket medical, vision and dental insurance premium costs from pre-tax dollars to the full extent allowed by law.  The District, with minimum participation (during the enrollment period) of at least twelve (12) members, agrees to extend this 125 Plan to include dependent child care and adult day care.  Members exercising this additional provision will be charged fees in excess of $3.00 per month for this service.  The selection of the firm responsible for managing these additional Section 125 accounts will be determined by the District.


I. The parties acknowledge the passage of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) (Public Law 99-272, Title X) which requires that most employers sponsoring group health plans offer members and their families the opportunity for a temporary extension of health coverage at group rates in certain instances where coverage under the plan would otherwise end.  As required by COBRA, specific notice of member and family rights and obligations will be communicated directly to the members.


J. Eligibility as a family member for purposes of insurance coverage will be determined by use of carrier definitions, to include domestic partners.  Members will bear any additional cost as may be required by IRS regulations for coverage under this provision.


K. Retirees are able to participate in District medical, vision and/or dental insurance as per the provisions in Article 30.