As health care costs rise, CCSD mulls districtwide insurance plan

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Monday, June 16, 2014 | 8:38 p.m.

The Clark County School District is considering a single, districtwide health insurance plan to offer cheaper health care for its 38,000 employees.

For the past several years, the School District has been trying to consolidate its employee health insurance plans to combat rising health care costs. Since 2011, the health insurance costs for the state's largest public employer have increased by more than 20 percent amid new federal health care mandates.

By bringing all employees under the same health plan, district and union officials believe the School District will have the bargaining power to negotiate lower health insurance for some 60,000 employees, dependents and retirees.

Currently, Clark County's administrators, police officers, support staff and teachers have separate health insurance plans, which are negotiated by their respective unions.

The School District offers six health insurance plans to its administrators, police officers and support staff through United Healthcare. The Clark County teachers union provides two health insurance plans to its 18,000 teachers and their dependents through the nonprofit Teachers Health Trust.

To study how a consolidated health insurance plan could be implemented, the School District and the teachers union hired an independent insurance consultant, Mercer Health and Benefits, LLC. The School District and the Clark County Education Association split the $158,350 consulting fee to prevent a biased report. Mercer consultants presented their findings to the School Board during a three-hour special meeting Monday evening.

Check back later for more on this developing story.