FORT SCOTT — USD 234 expects to hold a special board meeting before Thanksgiving to approve employee health insurance, so employees can enroll in time for coverage that starts Jan. 1. Assistant Superintendent Terry Mayfield told the board Nov. 9 that the choice will likely come down to proposals from Blue Cross Blue Shield and one other carrier.

The district is also comparing its current fully insured plan with a self-funded plan, which it has used in the past. “Right now, it might make more sense to go with the self-funded option,” Mayfield said. Benefits brokers Don Doherty and Jeremy Bowman were to review the numbers with the district’s benefits committee the next day, and Mayfield said they will be at the special meeting to explain the difference.

In October, the district’s carrier, Blue Cross Blue Shield, proposed a 53% increase in the district’s rates after a year of heavy claims. Asked Nov. 9 whether the district had any warning, the board was told the carrier had signaled an increase but not its size. “We knew our claims experience. We were running hot. But then to come back and see that it was that much, it was a bit of a sticker shock.” A self-funded plan would also give the district monthly data on what it pays in claims.

A second special meeting may be needed after Thanksgiving, the board was told.

Read the district’s recap of the Nov. 9 meeting, or read the meeting transcript.