The Anchorage School District’s (ASD) teachers are on a health plan separate from other district employees.

Back in 1996, Anchorage teachers made a significant decision to leave the ASD health plan and join the NEA-Alaska Health Plan, which later became the Public Education Health Trust (PEHT). Today, 18 school districts participate in PEHT but ASD educators make up an estimated two-thirds of all enrollees, meaning ASD carries much of the financial weight of the trust.

The Anchorage Education Association (AEA) board negotiated the right to choose the insurance carrier for its members, and with that choice comes the responsibility to make informed, good-faith decisions that reasonably serve members’ interests.

Unfortunately, neither the teachers’ union nor ASD can access detailed information from PEHT, data that would show whether Anchorage employees are subsidizing smaller districts in the trust or why plan costs keep rising beyond market averages. Without transparency from PEHT, the teachers’ union cannot explain why premiums spiked with a 15% cost increase this fall, far above ASD’s own 5% increase and higher than the statewide average of 10%.

To help the AEA Board and its members, ASD commissioned an independent market analysis to compare PEHT with other health plan options in the Alaska market. However, because PEHT refused to share standard plan data, most carriers declined to bid. The one carrier that responded had to pad its numbers to account for the uncertainty, making comparisons less meaningful, and the bid less desirable.

The result is that Anchorage educators are paying more, with little clarity as to why. As part of teachers’ benefits package, ASD contributes about $50 million each year to PEHT. Overall, employee health care consumes 16% of ASD’s annual budget. Over the last 15 years, ASD has increased the monthly employer contribution by 58.8%, despite a period of relatively flat funding from the state. Every dollar spent on rising health costs limits the District’s ability to invest in competitive salaries, manageable class sizes, and student programs.

The District understands the burden of health care costs on individuals and sees value in contributing to employees’ benefits packages. During current contract negotiations with AEA, the District has offered the largest one-year increase in history, along with additional increases in years two and three of the proposed contract. But, ASD cannot, and should not, be the sole backstop for rising health care costs, especially without transparency. The AEA board also shares a significant responsibility in managing member premiums given they select the plan on behalf of their members.

Generally, health plan costs can be managed through plan design changes, selecting which options to make available, setting premium rates across tiers based on usage, balancing premiums between employers and employees, and empowering members to make smarter health care choices. But knowing which of these strategies to lean into can’t happen unless AEA and ASD first receive better information from PEHT.

Many educators have told the District they were shocked by this year’s health care premium increase. Anchorage educators deserve better. Addressing the unknowns of PEHT will help ensure the teachers’ union health plan truly serves the members who fund it.