Keeping the health insurance option for school bus drivers and cafeteria workers continues as a thorny budget issue in final days of the 2015 General Assembly.

Gov. Nathan Deal, in his budget plan, eliminated those benefits for 11,500 part-time school workers and their families.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday followed the House’s budget lead and restored the benefits for these part-time workers, but put more of the cost burden on the school districts.

In a new GHN Commentary, former health care executive Jack Bernard and  public school  teacher John Palmer argue the state needs to cover these benefit costs.

“We all understand the need for fiscal responsibility, but do we want to balance the state budget on the backs of the working poor and educators?” say Bernard and Palmer, who is a leader of the advocacy group TRAGIC (Teachers Rally to Advocate for  Georgia Insurance Changes).

Here’s a link to their Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please email Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at amiller@georgiahealthnews.com