The Vermont School Boards Association has released a report saying taxpayers could save as much as $39 million statewide if teachers migrated from their current health plans to the "gold" plan offered by Vermont Health Connect.
But the executive director of the National Education Association's Vermont chapter says that would mean sharply higher out-of-pocket medical expenses than most teachers are facing now.
The school boards group says the gold plan is equal to or better than the coverage offered to the 86 percent of the Vermonters who have health insurance through the exchange set up under the federal Affordable Care Act.
NEA's Joel Cook says the teachers' union has negotiated for decades for the comprehensive coverage its members now enjoy.
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