The state ranks 50th in the nation in terms of health benefits for employees, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2003, Kentucky state workers paid about $540 a month for family coverage, compared with the national average of $167, the organization says. Next year, employees will pay even more through cuts in coverage. Those affected include highway workers, teachers, school bus drivers and state police.

"We'll do something when we go to Frankfort," said state Rep. Jon Draud, R-Edgewood, referring to the special legislative session that begins Oct. 5.

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• Click to view a chart showing a comparison of health benefits for Kentucky state employees.

Re-election is at stake, Draud said. Democratic and Republican incumbents will lose in November, he predicted, "if we don't do something about these insurance costs."

To keep the pressure on, hundreds of Northern Kentuckians are expected to participate in protests today.

For the first time in 16 years, Northern Kentucky's two largest school districts - Boone, with about 1,950 employees, and Kenton, with 1,530 - have called off school so workers can take their case to the streets. They'll be joined by staff from the Covington and Erlanger-Elsmere systems, which also canceled classes.

An 11 a.m. rally at Holmes High School in Covington is expected to draw at least 1,000 people. A bus will ferry participants to the rally.

After classes are over, Newport staff and students will parade down Monmouth Street. Campbell County workers will demonstrate along U.S. 27 in front of the middle school. Fort Thomas employees will carry petitions to the doorstep of two state legislators, Sen. Katie Stine and Rep. Joe Fischer.

"I think I've gotten their message," Fischer said.

This year, partisan bickering in the Legislature left the state without a budget. As a result, Kentucky is operating under a spending plan created by Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

Fletcher said he had to cut insurance benefits and raise premiums by about 7 percent overall to head off a bigger premium increase of 25 percent.

He tied premiums to workers' salaries for the first time, in an attempt to help those at the lower end of the scale. He also found extra money for teacher raises, but they weren't enough to make up for the increased costs.

State employees say they want a benefit comparable to their counterparts elsewhere. Kentucky is one of only four states in which employees pick up more than half the cost of their insurance, the Kentucky Education Association said.

Another problem with Kentucky's system is that university employees and city workers have a separate insurance plan, with relatively reasonable rates, when they are young and healthy.

Then, when they retire, they are moved into the pool that serves all the other state workers, including young school district employees who don't need much medical care. These young employees end up paying high insurance rates because of all the retirees, who use the insurance more.

Protest events

Holmes High School rally

When: 11 a.m.

Where: Holmes High School, 25th and Madison streets in Covington.

Who'll take part: The general public, state workers and employees of the Kenton, Boone, Erlanger-Elsmere, Covington and Grant County school systems.

What: Opening ceremony with color guard, national anthem and pledge. Speeches by superintendents and union presidents. Personal stories from people affected by insurance crisis.

Transportation: Groups arriving by bus should be dropped at the Holmes campus and the bus should then park at Meiken Field.

A shuttle service will begin at 9:30 a.m. and stop at the following locations around Covington:

Meiken Field, Eastern Avenue (every 10 minutes, school bus parking only at this location)

Latonia Elementary School, 40th and Huntington avenues, (every 20 minutes)

Ninth District Elementary, 28th and Indiana avenue, (every 15 minutes)

Sixth District Elementary,19th and Maryland avenues, (every 10 minutes)

John G. Carlisle Elementary, Holman and Pike streets, (every 20 minutes)

Other events open to the public:

7:30-7:50 a.m.: Teachers at Beechwood High School, 54 Beechwood Road in Fort Mitchell, will pass out insurance fact sheets in front of the school.

3:15 p.m.: Beechwood employees will rally in front of the school to hear invited speakers.

3:30 p.m.: Newport school system rally begins at A.D. Owens Elementary, 1102 York St., with participants marching down Monmouth Street to Fourth Street Elementary. Speakers include Newport superintendent, a student and a teacher from Newport High School.

3:30 p.m.: Health-issue rally at Ben Flora Gym, corner of Berry Avenue and Covert Run Pike in Bellevue. Participants will include Ludlow, Dayton, Silver Grove, Southgate and Bellevue school systems. Attending will be state Sen. Katie Stine, state Rep. Jim Callahan, Republican candidate for state Rep. Mark Hayden and Democratic candidate Dennis Keene.

3:45 p.m.: Fort Thomas school system rally begins across from Highlands High School, 2400 Memorial Parkway. Participants will walk down Fort Thomas Avenue carrying petitions about health insurance to the homes of state Sen. Katie Stine and state Rep. Joe Fischer.

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E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com