By DINA ARÉVALO
Port Isabel-South Padre Press
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
Health insurance coverage and the district’s financial health topped discussions during Tuesday evening’s regular meeting of the Point Isabel School Board.
The Board of Trustees heard a report about the status of the district’s health insurance and supplemental insurance plans. The district is self-insured, explained Henry LeVrier, deputy superintendent for business and operations. As such, plan participation numbers are important. “We look at the number of participants very seriously,” LeVrier said.
A decreased number of participants, combined with a six-figure deficit in the insurance fund balance prompted a look into whether or not the District might have to consider raising insurance premiums. “We ended in a deficit of about $975,000,” LeVrier said.
“And that was the reason we needed to entertain the notion of increasing the rates,” he said.
That deficit came, in part, from two claims which exceeded the District’s $100,000 per person annual coverage. “Those two claims kind of set us back a little bit,” LeVrier said.
Also, fewer employees participated in the District’s health insurance plan this year compared to last. “We dropped to 317 in October,” compared to 345 people who were on the plan the previous year, LeVrier explained.
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