Teachers' insurance plan widens

A state health insurance plan for teachers begun five years ago to save jobs in small school districts has grown into one of Texas' biggest programs, used by nearly 90 percent of the state's school districts.

The ActiveCare health insurance plan for teachers, which is overseen by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, now covers about 335,000 teachers and dependents in about 900 school districts, including Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth. Other large school districts — including the ones in Austin, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio — have their own health insurance plans.

That might not last. Eventually, all public school teachers in Texas will get their health coverage through the plan, predicted Linus Wright, vice chairman of the Teacher Retirement System board and a former superintendent in the Dallas district.

The health plan had its roots in a 1981 struggle in which state lawmakers passed a teacher health insurance bill that then-Gov. Bill Clements rejected because, he said at the time, teachers could get health coverage through their spouses.

The plan eventually came into being for the 2002-03 school year, and it was aimed at small- and medium-sized school districts.

But the plan became more attractive to larger districts grappling with escalating health care costs.

Officials say the biggest advantage of the state plan is that there has been no increase in premiums in two of the last three years.

Critics of the plan, however, say premiums are still too high.