Concerns raised about student health insurance

Students voiced their opinions about Penn's student health insurance plan yesterday at an open forum held by the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee.

SHIAC is comprised of students, faculty and administrators, who complete the initial review of options for Penn's student insurance plan each year. The committee then presents its recommendations to the University provost and president.

One of the main concerns addressed at the forum -- held in the Ben Franklin Room of Houston Hall -- was the increase in cost of the student premium, from $1,677 last year to $1,880 this year for students without dependents.

SHIAC members responded by saying that health care costs, particularly those pertaining to health insurance, are rising across the board in the United States, and that such an increase was necessary.

"Our job is to try and do the best we can under some fairly difficult circumstances," said Peter Conn, deputy provost and SHIAC chairman.

"The ratio of benefits to premium is strong," he said of the insurance plan currently offered to Penn students and their dependents.

Other concerns included confusion over the packaging of dental insurance separately from the health insurance plan, as well as questions about the plan's coverage of birth control and abortions. Some students complained about problems enrolling in the plan online.

Joan Mazelis, a Ph.D. student in sociology and a member of the Student Wellness Advisory Board, said she is not pleased that next year, about one-third of her salary as a teaching assistant must go towards health insurance.

As a member of Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania, Mazelis contends that the answer to many graduate students' insurance woes lies in unionization.

"Through unionization, we'll get health insurance," she said, adding that the status of an employee as opposed to a student affords different benefits.

"SHIAC can only go so far, as it is not a legal entity," she said.

Student insurance "is probably one of the most important and tangible issues that our constituents deal with," said Robert Alvarez, chairman of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly.

"One of my priorities this year was to have the forum before decisions were made about insurance," he said, explaining that last year, a similar forum was held after the plan was already finalized.

According to Alvarez, a second-year MBA student, there is "no easy answer" to many of the questions surrounding student health insurance.

"I'd like to give [SHIAC] some help, get them more input on issues," he said.

"It's hard because you can't get the perspective of every student," said Madge Forbes, a second-year MBA student.

"I think this was effective, but it would be good to get a better sample of grad students," the GAPSA treasurer added.

Students and members of the University community can send questions or feedback regarding Penn's student insurance to SHIAC at shiacpobox.upenn.edu.

GAPSA has also established its own e-mail address for either graduate or undergraduate student comments at studentinsurancegapsa.upenn.edu.

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