ANDERSON — The Affordable Care Act is having an impact on community colleges because they rely so heavily on part-time adjunct instructors to teach many classes, Ivy Tech Community College President Tom Snyder told members of Congress on Thursday.
"Part of our strategy to keep tuition affordable is to operate within a model that utilizes adjunct faculty for over 50 percent of the instruction we deliver," Snyder told members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, meeting in Greenfield.
In addition to hearing testimony about school impacts, the committee also heard from small business owners.
Under the act, part-time employees who work more than 30 hours per week must be offered health insurance benefits.
If Ivy Tech had to pay health insurance costs for those part-time employees, Snyder said, "we would have to pass along such increase on the backs of students by increasing tuition. As a result, many of those who are at the lowest income levels trying to improve their lives would no longer be able to afford college."
Tom Forkner, president of the Anderson Federation of Teachers who also testified at the hearing, said Anderson Community Schools has also cut the hours of part-time employees, including classroom aids and cafeteria workers, to avoid sharp increases in health insurance costs.
Forkner told the committee that the district has done a good job of controlling health care costs by working in concert with the AFT to create a school system health clinic, which has helped reduce costly emergency room visits.
But he called the district's decision to reduce the hours of classroom aids to avoid paying for health insurance shortsighted "given that these employees come in contact with students, parents, our members and the community on a daily basis."
Forkner said the union urged ACS to provide coverage, even though non-insured employees can obtain health insurance through federal exchanges.
"We believe that this is the right thing to do and that an employer-sponsored plan can provide better benefits for our fellow employees than what is offered under an exchange," Forkner said.
In May, 6th District Republican Luke Messer, who serves on the committee, introduced two bills in Congress to address the issue.
One would exempt schools from having to comply with the health care act's employer mandate; a second bill would change the definition of large employer from 50 to 100, which would effectively exempt most small businesses from the mandate.
"It's shame the federal government is taxing schools and small businesses to pay for the ACA. It's just not right," Messer said. "And we heard today just what a detrimental impact this flawed law is having around the state."