Healthcare Relief Bill For NJ Educators Now Law

NEW JERSEY - It took years of lobbying and garnering bipartisan support, but the NJEA secured two bills that provide health care cost relief to New Jersey’s public school employees, due process to over 50,000 educational support professionals and could save upwards of $1 billion dollars.

They were signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy on Wednesday.

“With our state facing historic public health and economic challenges, it is more important than ever that we ensure access to high-quality, affordable health care for our educators, while also ensuring cost-savings for our taxpayers,” Murphy said after the bills passed in Assembly.

Officials estimate the new plans could save school districts $640 million a year for seven years, save NJEA members $404 million a year, and save the state $30 million a year, although these numbers depend on how many teachers choose to enroll in one of two new plans.

"This is the ultimate 'it takes a village' to get this done," Murphy said at the signing in Union County. "I think the real importance of this bill isn't just the way it creates and entirely new way of protecting the health of our educators, or frankly in the hundreds of millions of dollars it will ultimately save our taxpayers. What I think we must take from this day is that New Jersey returned to one of the central tenants of our state and that is collective bargaining."

The new health care options would be added to the School Employees Health Benefits Program (SEHBP): the New Jersey Educators Health Plan will be added as soon as the law takes effect and the Garden State Plan will be developed and added approximately one year later, officials said. Members who opt for one of these plans will finally be relieved of the onerous payroll deductions that were tied to a percentage of ever-rising health care premiums.

Under the New Jersey Educators Health Plan and the Garden State Plan, payroll deductions would be associated with a percentage of salary—resulting in greatly reduced health insurance contributions, in many cases thousands of dollars less.

Senate President Steve Sweeney, whose chamber passed the bills in March noted that the bill provides benefits to all parties.

“Now, more than ever, it is important that we find ways to produce savings for taxpayers and educators,” Sweeney said. “While we focus on the immediate threat to public health and economic stability brought on by the global pandemic, this agreement will produce meaningful and lasting financial benefits at the same time it preserves quality health care for public workers.”

The new plan replaces Chapter 78, the 2011 health benefits reform law for New Jersey’s public sector, was designed to bring relief to boards of education and property tax relief to taxpayers. The law required school employees to pay a portion of health insurance premiums. That plan has been widely derided by educators who had to shoulder the burden of increasing health costs over the last nine years.

NJEA President Marie Blistan said the bills were a cooperative effort between NJEA members and legislators.

“These bills are the result of more than two years of hard work by our members to achieve needed relief for all members and job justice for our 50,000 educational support professionals,” said Blistan. “Through all of the challenges, we continued to advocate for the respect that our members deserve and what we know is right for our profession and our students. Because of how we all came together, our schools will be stronger, and our members will be more secure as we head into the serious challenges ahead."

NJEA officials said they will continue to work with leaders of both chambers to reconcile the subcontracting bills that both have passed to ensure that NJEA members receive the protections intended in both versions of the bill.

The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services could not determine the net savings, noting in their report "migration is not predictable."

You can view the entire press conference below.

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