Around 20 people, primarily graduate students, gathered in the Terrace Room of Logan Hall last night to voice their concerns to members of the Student Health Insurance Committee about next year's health insurance plan.
The prevalent complaint of those covered by the Penn Student Insurance Plan last year was the higher premiums they were forced to pay, coupled with fewer benefits.
"Under the old plan, the premiums were higher, and the benefits declined," admitted Deputy Provost Peter Conn at the open forum, sponsored by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly.
The insurance committee is composed of of a mix of faculty, staff and graduate and undergraduate students. Graduate students make up a majority of the committee, partly because they are the group that most often signs up for the student insurance plan.
Despite the numerous complaints raised at the forum, Student Health Service Director Evelyn Wiener said that dissatisfied students are in the minority when it comes to benefits provided by SHS. Wiener attributed much of the dissatisfaction to circumstances surrounding individual, unfortunate visits to the 34th Street office.
"Ninety percent of students feel that the care is very good or excellent," Wiener said.
The forum went on to address the particulars of the new health insurance plan itself. Many students complained about the lack of choices among providers under the previous plan. Committee members addressed this by stating that while the presence of competition may reduce premiums temporarily, the overall effect would be an astronomical rise in costs and premiums.
The committee responded with a similar explanation when another student raised the option of a two-tiered plan.
"By offering the two-tier plan, costs go up on both ends," Wiener said. "Is it better to have a single tier with a good level of benefits for everyone, or make two different options that may not be as rich, but you end up paying more?"
Another graduate student raised concerns regarding the coverage of students with chronic conditions under the new plan.
GAPSA President Christopher Leahy sympathized with this concern. As someone with a chronic condition himself, he admitted to facing similar problems with the old health insurance.
Under the new plan, the out of pocket maximum payment will be reduced to $2,500. Wiener referred to this reduction as an "unprecedented arrangement offered by the carrier this year."
The premiums of many School of Arts and Sciences graduate students are subsidized by their school, while other students must pay their premiums out of pocket. This variety of coverage presents a new set of problems for the committee.
Sociology graduate student Joan Mazelis raised the question of whether other Penn graduate schools could afford to cover their students' premiums as well.
In response, Conn spoke about the difficult financial position in which such a program would place graduate schools.
A representative from Graduate Parents at Penn brought the issue of coverage for students' dependents to the table. This added a new facet to the plan.
Wiener confirmed that there had been extensive discussion about dependents, but said the current insurance plan offers extensive coverage of dependents.
On the other side of the issue were single graduate students who said they felt that the balance falls too far in favor of students with dependents. One medical student, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was unfair that a large portion of her premium subsidized students with dependents.
"It's a struggle with so many diverse groups within the graduate division," Associate School of Arts and Sciences Vice Dean Joe Farrell said. "The presence of very different needs and desires makes it a challenge to find a balance and provide a certain level of benefits."
