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Volume 4, Number 3 October 2010
From the President
Calendar of Events
October-November 2010
October 15 Deadline to choose health
insurance option
October 30 New Teacher Conference,
Nashville
November 2 Election Day
November 6-7 TEA Bargaining
Conference, Murfreesboro
November 7 Daylight savings time ends
November 11 Veterans Day
November 14-20 American Education Week
November 17 ESP Day
November 25 Thanksgiving
Small-Town Charm, Big Enthusiasm in Elizabethton
TEA President Gera Summerford visited Elizabethton City Schools in early September to talk education and share about recent Association developments with local educators.
Recently retired Elizabethton EA leader Meleta Kardos served as host and tour guide for visits at Harold McCormick Elementary School (HMES), T.A. Dugger Jr. High School (TADJHS) and Elizabethton High School (EHS). During these visits, Summerford also read to a first grade class at HMES and observed a teacher in action at TADJHS.
“I believe that the small-town atmosphere in the Elizabethton City Schools helps teachers to personalize instruction, enabling them to establish and maintain an environment that is truly conducive to learning,” Summerford said. “In today’s fast-paced, Internet-based society, it is easy to lose a sense of community. I witnessed a sense of community and caring in the Elizabethton schools.”
Brian Culbert, HMES principal and EEA member, concurred with Summerford’s observations. “We believe we need to help every child every day,” said Culbert. “We do this by providing a safe, nurturing environment, making sure that each student is empowered to develop academic, creative and social skills necessary for productive life-long learning.”
As part of the visit, Summerford and EEA hosted a members-only briefing session regarding Tennessee’s Race to the Top application, the Tennessee First to the Top Act and the work of the Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee. The meeting, held at the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library, included a question-and-answer session with local members.
Health Changes
Why the state is asking you to take a close look at your health insurance plan
For the first time in many years, teachers will have to choose a health insurance option during the Annual Enrollment Transfer/Open Enrollment Period, which runs from September 15 through October 15, 2010. Log on to www.teateachers.org for the full Q&A explaining your options.
1. What exactly is changing with medical insurance offered to teachers?
Health plan participants can expect the following changes:
• You have the choice of two new PPO (preferred provider organization) health insurance options—the Partnership PPO and Standard PPO.
• The current PPO, HMO and POS options are no longer available. (The Limited PPO remains for local government employees.)
• Both new health insurance options have deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance.
• You will save money if you take an active role in your health.
• Premium levels (tiers) have expanded from two to four.
• For the first time in many years, you have to choose a health insurance option during the Annual Enrollment Transfer/Open Enrollment Period, which runs from September 15 through October 15, 2010.
2. Why has the medical insurance for teachers changed so much?
The cost of the medical plans is now higher than the total premiums coming in. Given the state’s unprecedented budget crisis, this situation is not sustainable. Broadly speaking, there are two options to contain costs and preserve benefits:
1. Reduce the need for (and use of) health care by:
a) Helping our participants get or stay healthy.
b) Reducing unnecessary use of health care services.
c) Providing more efficient delivery of care.
2. Require participants to pay more by:
a) Shifting a greater proportion of health care costs to plan participants.
b) Reducing the scope of covered benefits.
c) Reducing the extent of network coverage.
The state of Tennessee believes the first option is better for all of us, which is why it designed the Partnership PPO. The state continues to work hard to minimize the cost-shifting and to avoid future reduction in benefits and choice.
3. Do plan participants have any other alternatives?
Unfortunately, they do not. The following changes have been implemented over the past year to control costs until the economy recovered and the state could better afford premium increases:
• New pharmacy co-pays.
• Reduced co-pays for diabetic drugs and supplies to encourage appropriate use by participants with diabetes.
• Elimination of brand-name proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs.
• Dependent eligibility verification.
• New pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) contract.
• Regional (rather than statewide) contracting strategy for claims administrators.
Each of these changes are proven to save costs and did help to some extent. However, given the severity of the economic downturn and the aging participant population, these efforts were not sufficient to offset the overall growth in medical costs.
Election 2010: Friends of Public Education
Candidate Recommendations Explained
As we prepare for the 2010 elections, we as educators must do our homework by being informed about each candidate’s positions that affect public education in Tennessee, such as funding, vouchers, class size, assessments and evaluations, among others. You can find out which candidates have passed our test and earned the recommendation of TEA by reviewing pages 8-10 of the October issue of teach or by visiting the Member Center section of www.teateachers.org. First-time visitors will need their member ID number, found on the mailing label of teach magazine, to log in.
The federal and state candidates presented in this special section are true friends of public education. They are recommended by both the TEA and NEA Funds for Children and Public Education (TEA-FCPE and NEA-FCPE).
The candidate recommendation process for national office includes several steps that involve local, state and national political action units (local PACE, TEA-FCPE, NEA-FCPE), as well as concurrence by TEA and NEA governing bodies. No dues dollars are used to support candidates.
Before they receive our endorsement, candidates for state and national office are interviewed on education issues and usually asked to complete written questionnaires. Every TEA member has the opportunity—through their locally affiliated FCPE unit—to give input into the Association’s candidate recommendation process at every level.
Recommendations are based on candidate support for, and commitment to, education issues supported by the Association. Our inclusive, transparent, bi-partisan recommendation process starts with our members at the grassroots, not from the top down. Always the determining factor is the candidate’s support for education, not his or her party label.
The candidates listed in this report have committed themselves to key Association issues. They need your support to make that commitment count. What happens to you and your students in 2011 and beyond will depend on your choices.
Additional information is available in the Member Center at www.teateachers.org.
Horace Mann, Lincoln Presidential Library Offer Scholarships to Educators
For the sixth consecutive year, Horace Mann Educators Corporation and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (ALPL) have partnered to form the Horace Mann-Abraham Lincoln Fellowship, a program designed to help educators teach American history to school-age children.
The fellowship program will offer 50 teachers the chance to study the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. It includes round-trip transportation to Springfield, Ill., lodging and most meals. While K-12 educators are eligible to apply, the curriculum is targeted to teachers of grades 4-12.
Interested teachers are encouraged to contact their local Horace Mann agent, visit the Horace Mann home page at www.horacemann.com or the ALPL home page at www.alplm.org. The application deadline is January 3, 2011. The 50 winning fellows will be announced on May 1, 2011.
“Horace Mann believes that this partnership is an extension of our strong commitments to the education community and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library,” said Lou Lower, Horace Mann president and chief executive officer.
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