SOUTH DEERFIELD — With Frontier Regional School facing a $300,000 spike in its health insurance costs, the School Committee is continuing to discuss the best steps forward.
After already budgeting for an initial 18% increase for health insurance heading into fiscal year 2026, Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust member towns and schools must now address an additional 20% hike, which took effect Oct. 1, after the trust’s July 30 vote to increase rates. Members of the trust reached this decision after being informed that the organization was at risk of going bankrupt due to increased pharmaceutical and medical claims, and the growing popularity of weight-loss drugs.
At the Frontier School Committee’s Sep. 9 meeting, Superintendent Darius Modestow and Director of Business Administration Shelley Poreda informed the committee of the health insurance bump. On Tuesday, Modestow and Poreda updated the board with the information they’d gathered since meeting with town administrators and multiple insurance groups and providers.
According to Poreda, turning to the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) would come at a higher cost than the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust’s health insurance fees. Despite the higher rates, Poreda, also a member of the trust’s executive committee, said the Group Insurance Commission gives many people the impression of a more stable option because the state funds high claims.
Referring to Joseph Shea, executive director of the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust, Poreda said, “People are upset and people have lost trust in the trust and in Joe Shea in particular, and I think people are scared about not having insurance … but GIC isn’t necessarily better for staff.”
She continued, “When we look at the benefits our employees and our retirees are receiving compared to the GIC and the cost of GIC plans, we’re offering better insurance for the same price.”
Modestow reminded the committee of the trust’s low interest and “very healthy accounts” over the past 15 years. “We raised our plan by 38% and it’s still cheaper than GIC,” he said.
To address concerns circulating among trust members about the trust potentially running out of money, Poreda added that the trust “shouldn’t” run out of money due to its schedule for collecting premiums. Modestow assured the School Committee that the district will not receive an abrupt email about the trust closing. As a member, the district would be involved in any discussions about the trust dissolving and be able to prepare, Modestow said.
“The trust would only close if we close it as members,” Modestow said. “If the trust loses a lot of money, they again have to come to us and say, ‘You guys want to pay for this?” He continued, “We are the trust, we are the members. … Together, [we] decide what’s going to happen.”
At the start of Tuesday’s meeting, School Committee member Phil Kantor said many towns voiced frustrations with the trust to him.
“The feeling that I hear a lot is that it shouldn’t have been as bad, the losses should have not been as big, that the executive director should have been more on top of the trends,” Kantor said. “Is there a person that is responsible for not being on top of this? If so, what are we doing about it?”
In response, Poreda said, “Personally, I don’t think that this is any one person’s fault. I think a lot has changed in the insurance industry in the last year, and I think when you look at the financials, some writing was probably on the wall two-ish years ago, but not to the extreme change that has happened in the last few months. You can’t predict that you’re going to lose $15 million. You can’t predict that.”
“We can point fingers, but that doesn’t fix the problem in front of us,” Modestow added.
The committee decided to revisit the discussion at its Nov. 12 meeting.
“Frontier hopes to stay with HCGIT moving forward,” Poreda wrote in an email, “but is currently in conversation with several brokers to consider other health care options.”