The impact of a proposed state-wide insurance pool could be "astronomical" for Decorah school employees. That is what Superintendent Mike Haluska told DEA personnel on Thursday afternoon, as he urged them to contact their state legislators about the issue.
Governor Branstad recently floated the idea of a state wide insurance pool for state employees (including school personnel). Although there may be other concerns about the proposal, the biggest immediate concern is that it could remove the Decorah Schools from its current insurance network, the Northeast Iowa Insurance Trust. Loss of that program and being forced into a "state pool" could make the major providers in this part of the state � Mayo Clinic and Gundersen Health Systems � be out of network providers. That could have an "astronomical impact" on costs said Haluska, as both he and DEA negotiator Steve Peterson expressed high satisfaction regarding the stable nature of the current insurance program.