I decided to report on the increase of health insurance costs for teachers in Florida after the Gov. Rick Scott decided to not support the expansion of Medicaid in 2015. It was intense. Although I had a full list with sources who I wanted to contact, all of them except for one denied my phone calls and emails.
I have been denied when requesting for interviews before, but not like this time. As I was running out of the time, I seek for the help of the University of Florida College of Journalism librarian April Hines. She was absolutely amazing in helping me to find new data and specific documents to help with my story. I couldn´t thank her enough. I could not do the best journalism I have ever made in this piece. I think I need to start working better with the time I have and stop relying so much on the help of others. If I want to become the journalist I aspire to be, I need to be more proactive and active. I can´t wait to start my next reporting, because I´m sure it will be better than this one. ---------- Fall means an increase in the search for health insurance plans. With the flu season scheduled to start in the first semester of the academic year, educators get concerned not only for their students, but for themselves. According to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation together with the U.S. Census Bureau, 42 percent of employers in Florida were enrolled in a health insurance plan in 2016, but only 16 percent of the total population had Medicaid. After the Florida Gov. Rick Scott stopped supporting the Medicaid expansion in 2015, teachers’ unions across the state are trying their best to make agreements with their district offices in order to assist as many educators as possible. The president of the Alachua County Education Association Carmen Ward said that teachers don´t have to pay for their insurance in the county but have to pay for its dependents. “The union negotiates with the district, so employees don´t pay,” Ward said. With the state gubernatorial elections to be held in Nov. 6, candidates are issuing the health insurance cost by shouting out Scott´s name as he also deducted three percent of benefit in the state teachers´ retirement plan. Although Alachua County is providing free access to health insurance plans for teachers, their dependents are still in need to pay if relying in one of the two plans offered by Florida Blue, the official county insurance company. It´s under the Chapter 627 of the Florida Statutes that any teacher or student enrolled in a learning education may have health insurance. Polk County School District agreed in the beginning of the year to raise in $300 the level of living adjustment for teachers, but also to increase the cost of their health insurance, The Ledger reported. The Volusia County teachers union, on the other hand, are still arguing with their school´s district to get a raise in their salaries “Some changes have to be made,” Ward said. $36,757 is the annual salary of teachers in the Alachua County public schools with a bachelor’s degree and one year of experience during the 2017- 18 academic year. According to a report agreement released in the beginning of 2017, teachers in Ocala who are part of the Marion Education Association and the Marion Local Board of Educators are receiving a bonus compensation starting at $250 divided into paychecks throughout the year due to a new agreement within the district. Candidates for this year´s elections are still debating on health insurance costs and share different views in how to address the discussion as for now.
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AuthorGiovanna Kubota is a 22-year-old Brazilian pursuing a master's degree in Communication at the University of Central Florida. |