MEMORANDUM

TO: Members, Senate Health Care Committee

FROM: A. Joseph Layon, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology, Surgery, and Medicine
Committee Chair

Re: Health Insurance Coverage for UF Students and Non-Faculty Staff

Date: 22 February, 2000

Colleagues, our committee was asked to look into the issue of health coverage for members of our University Community. This includes, but is not limited to, undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral investigators/instructors, OPS employees, and professional students. Since the formation of the Committee, we have been attempting to obtain the outlines of the problem. Resultant from the significant work performed by of all of you, below you will find the descriptive data as they stand today. Please look this over.

1. College of Health Professions: With the exception of individual departmental stipends, there is no organized system of health coverage for graduate students or post-doctoral scientists. Interns receive stipends with which they may purchase health coverage.

2. College of Nursing: TAs and RAs in this college are considered OPS employees and are not covered by any insurance program. Undergraduate Nursing Students are required to have coverage, but the College of Nursing does not have a health plan and it is unclear if the students are actually covered.

3. College of Medicine: Students are required to have insurance and the cost of this is built into the student's financial aid package. It is unclear if the students are actually covered or use the money for other purposes.

4. College of Veterinary Medicine: Residents are uncovered but allowed to buy the Student Government sponsored plan. Undergraduate students and Post-Doctoral Scientists are not covered.

5. Graduate School: TAs and RAs are considered OPS employees and are not covered. "Non-working" graduate students are not covered as a matter of course by their enrolment.

6. Undergraduate Students: The status of undergraduate coverage is unclear. They are either covered by parent's policies, purchase the Student Government sponsored [Scarborough Co] policy, or are uncovered. We will attempt to obtain information on the status of undergraduate coverage through the Registrar's Office.

7. College of Dentistry: Dental students are either covered by the parent's health plan, purchase Plan B from the insurance program sponsored by the Student Government, or are uncovered. Residents are covered through the faculty health plan. Post-Doctoral Scientists are allowed to purchase the faculty health plan, but the individual pays for it.

8. Student Health Service: Provides primary care coverage. Through the student health fee, professional care provided by the SHS occurs at no extra cost. However, tests, drugs, and so forth are extra charges. Specialty and inpatient care are not covered by the Student Health Fee [the so-called Plan A]

9. Issues:

• Graduate Students- do we wish to include all graduate students, or only those who are referred to as graduate employees by Mr. Thompson of the GAU ? My bias is to be inclusive and use whatever strength we have to "lift all boats"
• UF versus the SUS- do we wish to attempt a solution at the University of Florida, or create a model for the State University System ? My bias is that, even though we are organized as a Committee of the UF Faculty Senate, we should look to create links to, planning with, and a model for our colleagues in the SUS. Thus we would be talking about including students, graduate students, OPS employees, post-doctoral scientists/investigators, etc from throughout the SUS.
• Board of Regents [Cynthia Beckwith, BOR]- Graduate Assistants, Research Assistants, Teaching Assistants are considered OPS employees under state law. Under said law, OPS employees are prohibited from being granted benefits, such as health insurance. Altering this would require legislative action.
• Board of Regents [Jim Mau, Vice Chancellor]-Undergraduates and "non-working" graduate students who are under 26 years of age can be covered through their parent's insurance. The BOR does not support any health insurance plan or subsidy. Additionally, no University within the SUS offers health insurance coverage.
• Previously Proposed Health Coverage Program- Approximately 8 years ago, Dr. JH Modell put together a series of stepped health insurance plans for the Provost. This proposal was, if I understand correctly, not followed up. The proposal should be pulled and studied in the context of our committee work.
• Added Costs to Students- Brian Burgess, of the Graduate Student Council, asked that we be sensitive, as we progress on this issue, to not add further financial burden to graduate students. This comment was in the context of a discussion in which mandatory coverage was being considered.

Att.

Xc: President CE Young
Nik Gravenstein, MD

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