HB 102 Co-sponsor Rep. Raymundo Lara
By MARGARET O’HARA
The Santa Fe New Mexico
Kevin Darrow, a music teacher at Wood Gormley Elementary School, estimated he spends nearly 14 percent of his earnings — some $600 per month — on health insurance.
“For a teacher, that’s a lot of money,” he said.
And Darrow said he’s one of the lucky ones because he shares that cost with his spouse. As the cost of living in Santa Fe continues to increase, he noted many of his fellow teachers — often master’s degree-level professionals — have to find roommates or get creative to stretch their earnings.
Figuring out how to pay for health insurance is part of that household budget calculus.
A bill before the Legislature this session is intended ease the burden of high health care costs, specifically for educators. House Bill 102, which would require school districts, charter schools and other educational institutions pay for the first $10,000 of health insurance costs for educators, secured a do-pass recommendation from the House Labor, Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee in a unanimous vote Tuesday, despite scrutiny from Republican committee members.
Currently, educators pay an average of about $10,000 per year — $3,000 more per year than most public employees — on health care, state Department of Finance and Administration analyst Simon Miller told the committee.
For many educators, that’s just unaffordable, said Lori Ortega, executive director of the state’s branch of the National Education Association.
“The bill is designed to fix that problem. If it passes, an average of $4,000 a year in health care costs would shift from educators to their employers, bringing educators to about $1,000 less in health care costs each year than most public employees,” Ortega said.
“HB 102 will provide affordable, high-quality health care benefits for all educators and eliminate unneeded stress from educators minds by allowing them to focus on their classrooms,” Rep. Raymundo Lara, D-Chamberino, who co-sponsored the bill, said before the committee.
The bill covers all school employees, including classroom teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and custodial staff.
The goal behind HB 102 — to largely eliminate health care premium costs for New Mexico educators — was among the priorities announced in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s second inaugural address in January.
“Taking care of our educators and increasing their overall compensation supports better outcomes and is in the best interest of New Mexico students and families,” Lujan Grisham said of the legislation in a recent news release.
Where would the funding come from to help districts and schools cover these increased costs? While the bill does not include a direct appropriation, the governor’s executive budget recommendation includes $100 million to cover the health insurance premiums.