Graduate Senate addresses health insurance concerns
At the Graduate Student Senate (GSS) meeting Wednesday, senators discussed potential changes to the student health insurance, among which was the possibility of making it mandatory for students to have health insurance.
In the next year, premiums are expected to increase by 50 percent if things continue as they are, Erica Thomas, GSS president, said.
One of the reasons for this increase is the low number of students using the Utah State University student health insurance. This year, only 623 students have policies with the student health insurance, Thomas said.
“This is really low compared to other years,” she said.
If insurance was made mandatory, more students would probably take out policies with the student health insurance which would help spread out risk over a wider population and thus reduce the premiums, Thomas said.
Jeremy Kidd, economics senator, said USU was previously part of a group of universities in Utah that were part of the same insurance plan. This kept premiums down. When USU pulled out of the group, they lost the combined risk of other schools.
Kidd said they’re also looking at the possibility of working with all the schools in Utah to have a common health insurance plan with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. This would increase the numbers in the risk pool and drive down premiums.
For those students who are self-insured pay their own medical bills, there would be no proof to meet the mandatory requirement, and this could lead to some problems, Kidd said.
“Making insurance mandatory isn’t going to make anyone happy but those who go to the hospital all the time,” said Anthony Sienfeld, senator for biological irrigation engineering.
But when students are forced to drop out of school to pay for an unforeseen medical problem “eventually society pays for it,” said Brad Taylor, nutrition and food sciences senator.
Suggestions made by the senate are being taken back to the Student Health Advisory Committee for further evaluation.
Taylor also addressed the GSS travel fund status with the senate. Already this year, they have given out 65 travel awards only a quarter of the way through the fiscal year. Last year there were 76 awards total given away.
In previous years, there has been an excess of funds, but the way things are going this year, it looks like there might be a shortage, Taylor said.
“With all the terrorist activity, you’d think travel would decrease, but actually it’s going up. It’s hot,” Taylor said.
Steve Palmer, Associated Students of Utah State University, addressed the senate. His concerns included addressing graduate issues and helping the two councils, ASUSU and GSS, work together.
“The two councils do a lot of the same things,” Palmer said. “Basically, we work to benefit the lives of students.”
Robert Franckowiak, physics senator and chairman of the Graduate Issues Committee, said they’re trying to find ways to increase the stipends for graduates and dealing with parking issues.
“We’re at a crossroads, and I’m pleased to see this body working towards furthering his [President Kermit L. Hall’s] goals,” Palmer said.
Derek Reinke, psychology senator and chairman of the Activities Committee, said he’d like to see more activities geared toward married and non-traditional students, to which Palmer agreed.
“Non-traditional students have been neglected a little this year,” he said.
Palmer asked for the GSS to help them come up with ideas that would involve these students, and said ASUSU and GSS could co-sponsor such an activity.
Right now, GSS is working on an activity to offer graduate students a fine dinner the first week of December, Reinke said.