[Local-Maine-Schools] Education Reform: savings from health insurance

[Margaret T. Jeffery]

Esteemed Representatives and Senators,

I so appreciate your responses to my last letter - confirmation that I'm 
not just a "Vox Clamantis In Deserto" - foregoing all of that taxable 
income to write to our Senators and Representatives is not wholly in vain.

In thinking about the health insurance issue (8.66% rise this year - after 
significant increases year after year, and all so that the CEO of Anthem 
can get a multi-million dollar bonus!  And for that kind of divide between 
us-and-them, we have to give up our culture, our communities, our quality 
education!  Not that it's the only factor that has driven us to this point, 
but it certainly is a significant factor.  Very difficult to swallow.)

So, thinking about the health insurance issue, it seems that the DOE should 
be (if it's not already) a part of negotiations between the teachers and 
the health insurance company.  Moreover, and most significantly, one could 
allot a fair amount of savings (without which the Governor will veto any 
bill) resulting from DOE's insertion into the negotiating process between 
the health insurance company (now Anthem BCBS) and MEA.

Thank you for your time and efforts.  I hope that you all are safely 
situated on this stormy Friday.

Margaret T. Jeffery, Esq.
59 Cottage Street
P.O. Box 797
Bar Harbor, Maine  04609
Tel:  (207)288-2701
Fax: (207)288-2704
mjeffery1 at gwi.net or mjeffery at acadia.net

  At 02:03 PM 2/28/2007 -0500, you wrote:
>Thank you for your note -- I appreciate the "reminder" on the health 
>insurance cost aspect.  Several people brought this up in the hearings.
>Rep. Giles
>
>
>----------
>From: Margaret Jeffery [mailto:mjeffery1 at gwi.net]
>Sent: Wed 2/28/2007 11:57 AM
>To: Emily Cain; Webster, RepDavid; Millett, RepSawin; Flood, RepPatrick; 
>Robinson, RepJohn; Giles, RepJayne
>Subject:
>
>Esteemed Senators and Representatives,
>
>It is good news that the DOE has backed down on increasing class size.  I
>hope that it reveals the decrepit character of the rest of the Governor's
>proposal.  For those who know the history and think through each provision
>of LSRS, the DOE's most recent position will show the unsubstantiated
>conception and destructive outcome of LSRS.
>
>Unfortunately, most of the alternative proposals are comparably, if not as
>thoroughly, flawed.
>
>There are those who congratulate the Governor and Gendron for waking us up
>- bringing education spending to the fore of public debate.  It is my
>opinion that they should have done so in a much more responsible
>method.  The amount of time that my colleagues and I have spent ... well,
>I'm sure that we could have been generating a fair amount of taxable income
>- maybe even organized a few start-up businesses - rather than putting out
>wildfires in Augusta over the past two months.
>
>I wonder how many young families have chosen to steer clear of resettling
>in Maine because of this upheaval.
>
>It is ironic that the most productive suggestion that been revealed through
>the debate has not appeared in any of the proposals: the MEA and the DOE
>need to be actively involved in negotiating reasonable health insurance
>costs to teachers.  This suggestion was raised by Mia Brown on January 22,
>then thoroughly and eloquently laid out at the public hearing in Augusta,
>and again raised by Gail Marshall in response to Chris Galgay's
>editorial.   Unfortunately, it appears that there are no efforts to bring
>health insurance costs in line.  I imagine that it would have been far more
>productive if the legislature, the DOE, the MEA, my colleagues and I had
>spent the last two months in efforts to realign health insurance costs for
>teachers.
>
>I commend all of those who stay on top of the issues and continue to voice
>their opinions.  The legislature is still searching for answers, and still
>piecing together information.  It is essential that the public continue to
>provide its invaluable input.
>
>In these times, the mere fact that there continues to be active debate
>speaks loud and clear: there is a lot to lose from consolidation mandated
>from the State.
>
>And I return to generating taxable income ...
>
>Margaret T. Jeffery, Esq.
>Taxpayer, Parent, School Board Member
>59 Cottage Street, P.O. Box 797
>Bar Harbor, Maine  04609
>Tel:  (207)288-2701
>Fax: (207)288-2704
>mjeffery1 at gwi.net or mjeffery at acadia.net
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