Graduate students voiced concerns on Monday over a possible switch of Syracuse University health insurance plans that’s currently being considered by SU administrators.

Three high-ranking SU officials hosted a discussion Monday in Lyman Hall regarding the possible changes, with a switch from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Aetna health coverage, officials said.

“For many, it’s a really important area and one that helps to decide where they end up going to graduate school,” said Peter Vanable, dean of the Graduate School, on health insurance.

As of now, the possibility of a new graduate student health insurance plan is preliminary, officials said. Administrators are seeking feedback from students about the potential switch. A forum was also held last Tuesday for students to learn more about the university’s discussions.

But students who attended the forum Monday said they were concerned about the possible changes.

“I have a lot of deep-seated mistrust in the administration” said Emily Bukowski, a Ph.D. student studying geography. “How much negative feedback on the plan do you guys need to have? If it’s bad, how many grad employees does it take to say ‘No dice?’”

Skepticism expressed by graduate students during the discussion largely stemmed from an SU decision three years ago that required students to switch to a university health care plan if their plan, at the time, did not meet Affordable Care Act requirements.

Four students attended the forum. One said they were married and is supporting a child on the graduate student health plan. Another said he had undergone two surgeries during his time as a graduate student.

During the 90-minute discussion, students expressed concern about the continuity of health coverage, the transparency of Graduate School administration and the diverse set of health circumstances that graduate students could have.

Gabrielle Chapman, associate dean of the Graduate School, and Associate Vice President for University Communications Sarah Scalese also spoke with students during the event.

Vanable, in a campus-wide email to graduate students last month, outlined four main goals that a student health insurance committee is focused on as it considers a switch in plans: improving value, maintaining access to “better coverage and benefits at a lower cost,” “continuity of coverage regardless of a graduate student’s assistantship status” and making sure that vision and dental benefits are included in the health care option.

Bukowski said she knows students with various health conditions. She said the ability for students to choose which health care plan they receive, a provision that’s in the current graduate student health plan, is crucial for people like her.

“I spent a lot of time picking my health insurance,” she said. “I picked the one (based) on my paycheck, my health care needs. I’m deeply uncomfortable with not being able to choose.”

The possibility of using Medicaid as a supplement for the student health plan was also discussed at the meeting. Patrick Oberle, a doctoral student studying geography, said he wished he knew about that possible supplement option earlier for financial reasons.

Another student, who said they claimed two dependents on their taxes, said insurance takes up a third of his paycheck.

“(For) grad students in their late 20s, early 30s … having a family is incredibly hard,” said Brian Hennigan, who’s in his seventh year as a graduate student at SU. “That comes down to better stipends, but they’re still low.”

The student health insurance committee plans on sending a survey to graduate students about the possible switch, administrators said.

Vanable said he has been working closely with the Graduate Student Organization to determine possible health insurance plans, adding again that plans are still in a preliminary stage, for now.

Published on March 5, 2018 at 10:56 pm

Contact Gabe: gkstern@syr.edu | @gabestern326