web1_vegetables-752153_960_720.jpg

Mobile food pantry coming to Hillside Farms July 11

web1_36767_10150221973945652_324447_n.jpg

Beyond the Byline: Twenty-one going on 31

<p>WRIGHT TWP. &#8212; Crestwood School District didn&#8217;t simply change insurance brokers when it switched to OneSource Benefit Solutions at its June 30 board meeting; it switched from buying insurance to being self-insured, at a savings of about $690,000, Solicitor Jack Dean said.</p><p>The district had been using Creative Benefits as its insurance broker, and asked for a quote from that company and others for 2016-17, Dean said.</p><p>&#8220;We went out shopping around with these guys and Creative Benefits came back with a rate increase which amounted to about $124,000 more,&#8221; Dean said. &#8220;So then we went to talk to other brokers, including OneSource, and they were able to come up with a plan that saves us about $690,000 by their estimate. The difference is being fully-insured vs. self-insured.&#8221;</p><p>Large organizations often have that option. They can buy insurance coverage from a company such as Blue Cross, or they can &#8220;self-insure,&#8221; meaning they are responsible for paying claims, though they typically contract a company to manage the claims.</p><p>While they are different beasts, the Northeast Pennsylvania School District Health Trust and the Diocese of Scranton are both self-insured. The trust, a consortium of 10 area districts and education entities, contracts with Blue Cross to manage claims.</p><p>To minimize risk, self-insured entities routinely purchase &#8220;stop-loss insurance&#8221; to cover any extraordinary claims that exceed a certain threshold. Dean said Crestwood&#8217;s threshold is $250,000.</p><p>The district pays the insurance broker nothing directly, Dean said. The broker makes money by negotiating a deal with insurance providers, then gets a percentage of what the district pays the provider. &#8220;Our cost is built into that price.&#8221;</p><p>Under the old system, Dean added, the insurance coverage included a $5,000 deductible, but the district was responsible for all but $250 of that paid by the employee. &#8220;We were paying the deductible plus the premium.&#8221;</p><p>Under the new system, the employee sees no change, but the district no longer deals with a deductible; it simply pays the claim.</p><p>Being self-insured or insured through an outside company means little when it comes to budgeting, Dean said. The district sets a certain amount each year for insurance costs, and either pays it out as premiums to a company or as benefits to an employee.</p><p>&#8220;We had roughly $3.3 million budgeted for insurance back in the preliminary budget,&#8221; Dean said. &#8220;Now, we will have a total cost of about $2.6 million.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_Dean-John-Jack-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dean </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_Dean-John-Jack-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dean </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Crestwood School District claims savings of $690,000 by self-insuring