For $15 more, Ohio University students might receive additional health care benefits next year.
Although students will have a different insurance policy, it will still be hosted by UnitedHealthcare.
Of the 13 universities partnered in the Inter-University Council of Ohio, a coalition of public universities, seven or eight decided to accept United Healthcare’s bid. OU was one of those.
Miami University, Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati are among those that declined to sign with United.
The new policy, which is serving as a “shelf plan,” will be customized to fit the needs of students at OU, said Dale Burns, vice president of sales for UnitedHealthcare Student Resources.
Right now, OU’s student health insurance costs $1,287 a year. The new policy could cost students an additional $15 per year, OU Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said.
“We’re able to offer a much, much more robust plan at this cost,” he said.
About 4,000 students — or about 20 percent of the student population — are insured under the university’s policy, according to a previous article in The Post.
“This (policy) is a big step forward in terms of preventive care,” Lombardi said.
Graduate Student Senate members met Monday with Lombardi and UnitedHealthcare representatives to suggest amendments to the insurance policy, including wording that would allow transgender hormone coverage.
GSS members have also discussed requesting increased vision coverage and extended coverage of psychiatric medicines, according to a previous Post article.
GSS President Tracy Kelly said she hopes to reduce the time between when students register for the insurance and when they are able to receive benefits. Although students can register before the first day of school, they don’t receive their identification cards before the opt-out phase has passed, sometimes four weeks after school has started, Kelly said.
“I thought it went really well,” Kelly said. “I was really happy to see so much robust discussion. It’s good to sit down face to face and communicate your concerns and expectations. I think that was a really good step in the right direction.”
UnitedHealthcare will consider feedback from GSS and Student Senate and match the policy revisions with a cost. UnitedHealthcare will present the additional costs so OU can decide what changes should be included in the final policy.
GSS International Affairs Commissioner Tania Puscasu stressed the importance of explaining OU’s insurance policy to international students. Lombardi suggested a UnitedHealthcare representative attend each of the orientations to explain the process and proposed OU offer materials such as brochures to further explain the process.
“I don’t think we’ve done a good job telling students about these resources,” Lombardi said.
sj950610@ohiou.edu
