A win at the ballot box is a win for their health because even part-time elected officials often receive insurance. Taxpayer money supports generous perks that part-time workers in private industry seldom attain.
Longtime legislators can eventually qualify for free insurance for life. At the state's two largest school districts, board of education members pay nothing for their medical insurance, though teachers do.
And in Uintah County, commissioners who work full time receive up to a $70,000 life insurance benefit while typical county employees only get up to $40,000.
Many Jordan School District residents were shocked to learn their school board members received health coverage at all. But they were particularly incensed that board members voted to give themselves the option of collecting $17,456 in addition to their $12,000 annual salaries if they opt not to take the district's premiere health insurance benefit.
"I just don't know how you can justify that sort of a Rolls Royce plan and that sort of a benefit when it's not available to anybody else," said Royce Van Tassell, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association.
Though statistics vary, it's indisputable that the number of uninsured Utahns is rising. The Utah Department of Health estimates 306,500 Utahns had no health coverage in 2006. The U.S. Census pegs the number at more than 400,000.
Whether part-time employees nationwide receive insurance benefits depends on a variety of issues including the size of the company, the benefit costs and the industry. A significant factor for companies is whether the benefit plays a role in retaining or recruiting quality employees.
The added bonus of insurance can make up for elected officials' low salaries and long hours and may enable some to run for office, Utah politicians say. It makes the work required of the part-time job "a lot more reasonable," said Kim Burningham, a Utah State Board of Education member who earns about $3,000 annually plus health insurance for his service.
When John Pingree returned from serving as a mission president in Mexico for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became a state school board member, the automatic insurance gave him "peace of mind." He had been paying about $700 to $800 a month for private coverage. Instead he paid the far lower state rate, saving hundreds of dollars.
"I could have certainly bought coverage," said Pingree. "This was just a very nice benefit.''
In Utah, if legislators have at least 10 years in office, they're eligible for insurance for life through the state. Assuming they maintain coverage after they leave office, starting at age 62 they don't have to pay premiums.
Teachers in Utah often have to choose between the size of their raise and the skyrocketing cost of insurance. The state's largest teachers' union, the Utah Education Association, notes that teachers are increasingly carrying the burden of paying health-care costs through either higher premiums or taking less of a salary increase in exchange for maintaining benefits.
Yet not every politician sees the merit in giving elected officials a better benefit option just because they run for office. Mark Crockett, Salt Lake County Council chairman, believes council members should pay "at least as much" as the staff. Council members and employees pay at the same premium levels for health insurance.
"We're part-time," he said. "I don't think public officials should generally speaking get a better deal than their employees."
In Draper, city council members don't qualify for health insurance because they don't work 40 hours a week.
"For the most part, part of these positions is supposed to be classified as volunteer," Mayor Darrell Smith said.
Nevertheless, working an average of 20 hours a week on his county council job is a "huge hit" economically, so receiving insurance helps make up for it, said Joe Hatch, a Salt Lake County Council member. But he believes elected officials should at least say, "I'm in this boat with you."
"If they're treating themselves better, then they're setting themselves up as kings," he said.
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* KIRSTEN STEWART contributed to this story.
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* JULIA LYON can be contacted at jlyon@sltrib.com or 801-257-8748.
Insurance deals
The Jordan Board of Education's salary boost and benefits package have raised questions about elected officials and health insurance. Here's what some politicians pay:
* LEGISLATURE:
Initially, they pay as much as state employees, but the premiums shrink and can reach zero.
* S.L. COUNTY COUNCIL: Members pay as much as county employees.
* ALPINE BOARD OF EDUCATION: Members and teachers pay no premiums.
* JORDAN BOARD OF EDUCATION: Members pay nothing but teachers do.
