Attendees had their eyes opened during a session on sleep apnea, its effects on commercial drivers and how to diagnose and treat the condition.
NASDPTS and the school transportation consultant at the Iowa Department of Education. Christensen has sat in on meetings with FMCSA representatives regarding the pending guidelines and pro- posed rulemaking, and has himself undergone sleep-apnea testing. Other panelists were Ralph Knight, director of transportation at Napa Valley Unified School District north of San Francisco, and Charley Kennington, director of Innovative Transportation Solu- tions at the Region 4 Education Services Center in Houston. He shared concerns about what the guidelines and a federal rule might mean to student transportation operations and costs. In a letter last fall to FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, NSTA pointed out that the potential cost to test 43,500 private-company school bus drivers for sleep apnea, based on their qualifying body mass index, would be $60.13 million. But “conservative estimates” by NSTA that also include screening, diagnosis and treatment ($1,300 each for CPAP machines and monthly monitoring costs of approxi-
mately $15 per month per individual) would total $103.63 million. Lucia confirmed that sleep apnea testing in certified labs can cost about $1,300, not to mention the cost of CPAP machines prescribed to treat positive diagnoses. But, he added, sleep apnea is a considerable health risk to all people, especially school bus drivers. While the cost can still be significant to bus companies and school districts, he said the total cost of certified testing, which does not have to be performed in a lab as long as the testing gauges actual airflow, can be as little as $400 per person with private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare. He cautioned that if a test does not measure airflow, a positive diagnosis of sleep apnea cannot be made. He noted only certified doctors who are members of the American Academy of Sleep Med- icine should diagnose and treat sleep apnea and other sleep disorders instead of primary care physicians who have little or no training.
Responding to Mandates A session on the potential ramifications of the Affordable Care
Act reminded attendees that, like businesses, school districts have one more year — until Jan. 1, 2015 — to provide health insurance to part-time employees who work 30 hours or more. Presenters stressed that transportation directors should use this extended time to calmly and effectively analyze their workforce in order to retain their services.
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56 School Transportation News September 2013
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