As if unprecedented funding cuts and budget shortfalls weren’t enough, most school districts were also saddled with increased health insurance premiums this year. In fact, TRS increased ActiveCare premiums for all of their core plans by 9.5 percent. Most school employees access health insurance through TRS ActiveCare.
It seems the steep TRS premium hikes match premium increases seen elsewhere. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Annual Employer Health Benefits Survey 2011, annual premiums for single health coverage increased by 8 percent to $5,429. The annual premium for the ActiveCare 2 plan this year is $5,208, slightly lower than the national average. ActiveCare 2 is the most commonly selected plan. Premiums for other TRS employee-only plans range from $3,900 (high deductible plan) to $7,008 (ActiveCare 3).
The average family coverage premium is $15,073, up 9 percent from 2010, according to the Kaiser report. The ActiveCare 2 family premium is $13,020 this year with other family premiums ranging from $9,804 to $17,532.
Preliminary results from HR Services’ DataCentral survey 
on health insurance premiums reveal that 84 percent of the districts whose premiums went up did not increase their contribution to the premium expense. That means employees in those districts bear the entire burden of the premium increase this year.
That’s in contrast to Kaiser’s findings on cost sharing. According to Kaiser, the employee share of premiums rose by 3 percent, while the employer’s share went up 12 percent. That means that many private and other non-federal public employers footed the bill for a larger portion of the premium increase—a goal that was likely out of reach for most Texas school districts this year.
