Fact check: John Kline, the Affordable Care Act, and Education

In the November 28 edition of the Star Tribune, Congressman John Kline says that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called Obamacare, will “undermine education.” The advantages of ACA are well known: elimination of the pre-existing condition exclusion; elimination of life-time caps; permitting children up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ policies. In Minnesota it has been estimated that an additional 290,000 previously uninsured people will get health care coverage under ACA. Up to 92% of these people will have their insurance plan subsidized, either publicly or privately.

Industry analysts with whom we spoke and who work with employers confirm that the requirement to extend health coverage to workers who average 30 hours per week has very little impact on most organizations. It is already common for many schools, and other business, to extend benefits to employees working at least 32 hours per week. Consequently, for most organizations, moving the eligibility requirement to 30 hours results in relatively few newly eligible employees. The exception, of course, would be organizations that previously excluded from health coverage a large number employees who work from 30-40 hours per week. This is much more common in industries such as retail, restaurant and hospitality. Very few schools fit that profile, so it is unlikely that ACA would create a significant financial burden on most schools. While there may be a small increase in the number of individuals eligible for a schools benefits, most people agree that employees working full time during the entire school year should not be denied benefits simply because they are classified as a “class-room aide” or food service worker.”

Kline reaches his contrary conclusions about education after talking to only four schools: Hastings, Northfield, the Minnesota state college system, and the University of Minnesota. Kline’s conclusion is completely unfounded, based on the conversations he had with those schools. And, had he talked to other schools in his Congressional District, he would have learned there are few, if any, real problems with ACA in those schools.

According to Mr. Kline, there are no plans to cut employee hours or jobs in the Northfield public schools. The Minnesota state college system has not yet determined whether the ACA will have an impact, and the University of Minnesota declined to comment because its health insurance programs are largely governed by union contracts. Only in the Hastings School District was there any mention of potential cutbacks because of the ACA, and these cutbacks were described as potential, not certain. From this evidence, it is not rational for Mr. Kline to conclude that the ACA will “undermine education.”

What does the evidence really indicate? We contacted a number of other school districts in Kline’s Congressional District, and received responses from 19. None have present plans to change their employment practices, by reducing hours or firing workers. None have present plans to change their insurance benefits for their employees. Many of the schools’ health plans are governed by union or other collective bargaining contracts, so ACA is essentially irrelevant to them. Conceptually, some schools indicated that increased costs of health care might affect other programs—but not one said that such a concern has become a reality. Most schools were mindful of the 30 hour per week limit, and wanted to ensure they comply with the law.

The biggest issue raised by some districts is the need to improve monitoring of their part-time employees to ensure their compliance with ACA. All schools want to ensure that they provide benefits to those eligible—and don’t inadvertently overpay those employees who are not eligible for benefits. Those employees who are not now eligible for health insurance might inadvertently become eligible if their work hours exceed ACA thresholds. This issue was mentioned on several occasions in the context of substitute teachers and sports coaches. And, while this monitoring might cost some money, it will not likely “undermine education.”

The pattern emerging from this inquiry is clear: the impact of the ACA on schools is not likely to be consequential. And, as has so often been the case, John Kline overstates the evidence to suit his desired conclusion.