Ohio University’s insurance plan with United Healthcare ends at the end of this year, and as university administrators prepare to revise the healthcare plan, so do students.
Graduate Student Senate has formed an ad-hoc healthcare committee to make recommendations for next year’s insurance plan. Administration is completing a healthcare bid that should be ready by the end of the quarter, President Tracy Kelly said.
“We want to put together something that would benefit our constituents (and) really reach our student body,” said Kelly.
The transgender community has been gaining awareness at the university level, including installing single-stall, lockable restrooms. However, the plan does not recognize or cover transgender students who are in the sex-change process. The plan does not cover hormones or surgical procedures.
“My focus would be to change the language of our health insurance to be inclusive of transgender individuals,” said Kris Grey, a third-year MFA student.
International students also deserve more attention in the new healthcare plan and clear explanations of the nation’s insurance plan, said Christine Pirot, senator for the Center of International Studies.
“The students are given a quote for a service, then they get the bill,” she said. “For some students who don’t have any sort of income, it could be quite dilapidating.”
GSS created healthcare committees before. Last year, it drafted recommendations and put them before OU administrators. They were to improve student coverage and affordability, offer dental care, provide an insurance waiver to international students, improve the visual coverage and offer anonymous HIV testing.
Though the programs were not implemented through the university, GSS launched some independently. GSS successfully launched a dental care package for undergraduate and graduate students and offered anonymous HIV testing.
“We are really happy with our efforts,” Kelly said.
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