Ohio University's separate health insurance plans for domestic and international students might become one next year if OU's administration takes the recommendation of a representative from Student Health Services.
Although OU's current health insurance plan does not expire until August 31, 2008, Jacqueline Legg, business manager of Student Health Services, said she will present a move to a single plan for domestic and international students.
OU's Graduate Student Senate endorsed the plan Legg will recommend at a May 1 meeting, and it also has support from the International Student Union, Legg said.
Currently, domestic students pay $810 annually and international students pay $1,209 for university-provided health insurance. Among six other public Ohio universities used in an insurance plan comparison, OU's current domestic plan is the cheapest, Ohio State University's being the most expensive at $1,680 annually.
The plan Legg will recommend would cost $1,035 annually for domestic and international students, but would provide 100 percent coverage for the first $5,000 of a claim, a service none of the universities used in the comparison provided.
Even though this plan is more expensive, the increase in benefits would be worth the added costs, said Katie Nutter, secretary of Graduate Student Senate.
Although the domestic students will be paying more money
there will be increasing coverage from 80 percent to 100 percent a lower co-pay and it's a statement to international students
Nutter said.
A high out-of-pocket cost ' $40 for a $100 physician visit ' and a lack of extensive coverage under the current plan were primary reasons for the recommendation, Nutter said.
OU's health insurance provider provided a 2004-05 claim experience showing that of the 2,374 insured domestic students, only 61 ' 2.6 percent ' were individuals with claims less than $5,000. Of the 962 insured international students, only 21 ' 2.2 percent ' had claims less than $5,000.
Legg said she and Graduate Student Senate took these statistics into consideration when choosing a potential new plan because it offers 100 percent coverage for the first $5,000 and a $15 co-pay.
A feature I always tried to do for the students is try to keep their up-front
out-of-pocket costs as low as possible
Legg said.
Another key feature of the proposed health plan is that it lowers the cost for international students, said Sam Rossi, Graduate Student Senate's Arts and Sciences senator.
There is a definite need for more parity for international students and domestic students for the plan
Rossi said.
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Natalie Farinacci
