FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas is seeking bids for a new student health insurance plan, a move driven in part by graduate student efforts.
Finding affordable and comprehensive health insurance remains a concern for students, UA graduate student leaders said.
It's been nearly six years since the contract with the current vendor was signed, so it's an appropriate time to request proposals, UA spokesman Mark Rushing wrote in an email. Students, an advisory committee and risk-management representatives initiated the process, he wrote.
This year, only about 7 percent of UA students enrolled in the student health insurance plan, according to figures provided by the university. That's similar to enrollment in recent years.
Young adults can get health coverage through a parent's insurance plan until they turn 26, a mandate of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that took effect with plans beginning Sept. 23, 2010.
Survey data show that less than 15 percent of UA students are uninsured, said Mary Alice Serafini, director of UA's Pat Walker Health Center.
"We know that it is less uninsured than in past years," Serafini said.
This year, the government-imposed penalty for being uninsured jumps to $325 annually per person age 18 and older, up from $95 last year. The penalties are deducted from federal income tax refunds.
Scout Johnson, vice speaker for the Associated Student Government Graduate Student Congress and a history doctoral student, noted graduate students are older and more likely to be concerned about finding their own health insurance.
"A lot of my cohort have husbands, wives, children," Johnson said, describing herself as "well past 40."
Johnson said she's one of two graduate students on the university committee who will review proposals from insurance providers. One goal is to have dental and vision coverage provided, unlike the current plan, she said.
She said she tried the plan offered through UA, then switched to a plan purchased through Arkansas' health insurance exchange.
"But this year, the plan I was on dropped the vision and raised the premium," Johnson said.
The current student health insurance plan costs $1,900 yearly, with a $300 deductible. Another plan option allows students to pay $1,428 for a plan with a $2,000 deductible.
Enrollment numbers from the university vary slightly in bid documents, but this fall fewer than 60 students were enrolled in the $2,000 deductible plan, according to one document. Roughly 1,950 students were enrolled in the plan with a $300 deductible.
Bid documents show the university is seeking a plan providing a $300 deductible per insured person. The plan would also be expected to provide 100 percent coverage for care received at the on-campus Pat Walker Health Care Center, as does the current plan for covered medical expenses.
Students also pay a health fee of $7.25 per credit hour that's separate from the UA-offered student health insurance plan. The fee covers certain services such as mental health emergency care offered at the center, but medical office visits generally are billed to a student's insurance carrier, with the amount of student copays depending on what insurance plan they have.
Students without insurance are financially responsible for their health-care costs, though they receive a "self-pay discount," according to the health center's website.
Alex Marino, speaker for the Associated Student Government Graduate Student Congress, said the recently formed student organization has made improving health care options a top goal.
"We're really trying to get the best deal we can with health insurance prices increasing every year. We weren't sure that last year we did everything we could to control those costs," Marino said.
Only foreign students are required to have health insurance to enroll at UA. They are the largest group of enrollees in the UA student health insurance plan, with 995 students enrolled in 2014-15 compared with 802 graduate students and 209 undergraduate students, according to one bid document.
Another bid document states 775 graduate assistants were enrolled in the plan as of the fall. Graduate assistants work 20 hours in an academic department and, as a fringe benefit, UA pays 60 percent of the student health insurance plan premium.
But Marino, who is not on the bid evaluation committee, said even with the subsidy, he plans to leave the student health insurance plan.
"It is not competitive with what I am finding on the exchange," Marino said, explaining while he's eligible for the 60 percent subsidy, his wife isn't. "The student plan plus spouse is more expensive than unsubsidized plans on the exchange," he said.
Depending on income level, some enrollees qualify for subsidies to offset the cost of coverage on the state health insurance exchange.
UA had 1,511 graduate assistants in the fall, according to Kim LaScola Needy, dean of UA's graduate school, so roughly half enrolled in the student health insurance plan.
Marino said he would like to see the percentage subsidized under the UA plan increase. If enrollment is boosted in the student health insurance plan, insurance companies would likely offer a more affordable plan, he noted.
"The problem that we have is we have a very small number of people on this plan," Marino said.
The university will accept bids until Jan. 29.
NW News on 01/12/2015