UCSB Graduate Student Association

Voice of UCSB Graduate Students

Archive for category GSA

Official Decision on GSHIP for 2010-11

May 21

Posted by GSAPresident in GSA | No Comments

Dr. Elizabeth Downing, Director of Student Health, would like to share the following message about our 2010-11 GSHIP plan with the graduate student community:

“After very careful consideration on the part of many parties here at UCSB, it has been decided that we will opt out of participation in the new systemwide GSHIP for 10-11, continuing instead with our usual arrangement of the past 9 years with our insurance broker, Renaissance Agencies, and coverage this year, as in the past few years, with Nationwide Insurance Co.  This will include the usual, ongoing Eye Clinic and Dental Care Center operations in additional to the services routinely provided at Student Health.  The graduate students, in consultation with Student Health personnel, negotiated and approved an excellent plan with Nationwide for the coming year at a significantly reduced cost with additional benefits.  UCSB will plan on implementing the systemwide GSHIP for the school year 11-12 and we will keep you appraised throughout the upcoming year as to expectations and changes to come.  Thank you so much for your patience!”

GSHIP Updates

Feb 28

Posted by GSAPresident in Activism, Assembly, Governance, GSA, Meetings, Minutes | No Comments

The campus GSHIP committee met on February 26th.  The discussion centered on two main issues: 1) campus-wide negotiations for the 2010-11 year and 2) the progress toward a system-wide GSHIP plan, which would eventually cover graduate students at all UCs.  At present, the GSA and the GSHIP committee are moving forward with the usual campus-wide negotiations as a backup in case the system-wide plan does not go through for the 2010-11 year.  If a system-wide GSHIP does pass, and UCSB opts into it for the 2010-11 year, the campus-wide negotiations will be moot.   In the following minutes, I’ve divided my notes into “system-wide” and “campus-wide” sections to clarify the different movements on each front.

Note that in the campus-wide section, there is a list of proposed menu items (benefits that may be added for the 2010-11 year).  The GSA will ultimately vote on these items during our spring quarter Assembly meetings, once we have the cost projections from the underwriter.   While the menu items are public, the cost projections are confidential because they involve current negotiations.  If there is a menu item that you would like to see here, or you have questions about the following minutes, email gship@gsa.ucsb.edu.  If you have an opinion on how your department’s representative(s) should vote on any of the proposed items, please share it with that person(s)!

GSHIP Committee Meeting

February 26, 2010

SYSTEM-WIDE UPDATE

- the system-wide GSHIP committee has their next meeting March 3
- on March 11 and 12, representatives from seven campuses (graduate students and administrative staff) will travel to Sacramento to hear presentations from the three finalist insurers – UCOP will make a decision as to which insurer after this meeting
- bid details are confidential
- involves 7 of 11 campuses
- the new plan should be fully formed by this summer; would involve a small-opt out clause if it turns out to be too expensive or too difficult to implement
- if accepted, would take effect August 1 (for our campus, the beginning of the plan year – I believe some time in September)
- there are questions around what will happen to the dental discount plan
- Assembly will not be able to vote on whether or not to go to system-wide; Chancellor Yang decides
- however, students at campuses like UCLA have been concerned enough to draft a petition which they then gave to their Chancellor, who voted no for the 2010-2011 school year – that may be a potential avenue for UCSB GSA
- HUGE QUESTION: how will the graduate student voice be represented in a system-wide arena?  We don’t yet know what the process will be.  Will there be representatives from each campus?  How will those representatives be chosen, etc.?
- Dr. Elizabeth Downing warns that though the overall cost of GSHIP is likely to decrease under a system-wide plan, we may see bigger co-pays if the new plan somehow leads to an increase in administrative costs for Student Health on our campus – in other words, costs may be passed onto grads.

DRAFT MENU ITEMS FOR CAMPUS-WIDE NEGOTIATIONS
- we went over the menu items that we are going to submit to the underwriter, who will then determine how much each item would cost:

1. Increase Inpatient Alcohol and Drug Detoxification benefit from 3 days per plan year to:

a. 5 days per plan year
b. 10 days per plan year
***Note: this is detox, not hospitalization – the latter is coded differently (as a mental health issue)

2. Amend Outpatient Emergency Care copay from $100 to:

a. $75
b. $50
c. waive this altogether if Student Health is closed
***Note: this copay is always waived if you are admitted to the hospital
***Note: As is, if students are re-directed to an ER when Student Health is open simply because Student Health isn’t equipped to handle the problem, they still have to pay the copay.   Should we address this issue?

3. Amend Plan Year Maximum of $300,000 per condition to:

a. $400,000 per condition
b. $500,000 per condition

4. Amend Prescription Drug benefit maximum from $8,000 to:

a. $10,000

5. Parity for all Mental Health conditions.

***Note: Federal regulations regarding parity status for all mental health conditions are in flux.  A new federal regulation stipulated that there must be parity for all mental health conditions, but many states have claimed that it is a states’ rights issue and that only states have the authority to set such regulations.  California has interpreted
this as only applying to employer/employee plans, but not to student health blanket policies, of which GSHIP is a part. However, mental health parity will probably pass in the near future (though at present there is no legal requirement).  GSA may want to look into adding parity status for all mental health conditions anyway just because it’s a good benefit.  Renaissance (the insurance company) is currently compiling an experience report on mental health and should be able to tell us the cost of adding parity status soon.

6. Prorate international student early start date of 7/31 for 4 week summer intensive program.

7. Provide Student Health Services reciprocity benefits.

a. How much would it cost to treat other UC Student Health Centers as network providers?
(That would mean insurance would pay at 80% as opposed to 60%).
b. Because so few students visit other UC Student Health centers as is (about 10 per
year) this would likely not be an expensive item to add.

STATEMENT OF RECIPROCAL SERVICES: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA STUDENT HEALTH CENTERS

Elizabeth Downing consulted with directors from the other Student Health Centers to clarify the issue of reciprocity, and they drafted the following language.  This statement will be posted to the websites of the Student Health Center at our campus and presumably at the other UCs:

“The Student Health Center (SHC) at each University of California campus gladly offers reciprocal access to SHC services to currently registered studetns from all other UC campuses under the same conditions that apply to its own students who are not enrolled in its campus Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).  Students enrolled in their campus SHIP may receive special discounts, benefits or services at their home campus Student Health Center.  These special, campus-funded arrangements will not apply at another UC campus.”

Note:

- presently, fewer than 10 students per year take advantage of reciprocal services
- deductibles still apply; but here’s a potential scenario: If a UCLA grad was coming to UCSB’s Student Health Center and had not yet met her deductible, she would only have to pay our student health fee ($50) which is likely less than the total deductible.  Note that other campuses may charge more for a doctor’s visit.
- upshot: this won’t be free; as is, you could go anywhere when you’re more than 50 miles away from your campus, but it might be a cost-saving measure to try to direct students to UC Student Health centers because of the extensive measures that they take to keep their admin costs down

Take Action For Your Graduate Education

Sep 24

Posted by GSAPresident in Activism, GSA | No Comments

Graduate students at UCSB have already begun to feel the impacts of recent decisions regarding the California state budget, the University of California budget and UCSB’s budget. We have already heard of graduate students at UCSB quitting their programs for lack of funding resources. Teaching assistantships have been cut and/or restricted to students within their home departments. The impacts will be far more sweeping, however. All aspects of our educational experience will be affected by budget cuts, ranging from departmental support to academic and student support services to Graduate Division resources.  Graduate employment opportunities will be tougher to come by as courses and educational support services are cut. As a means to address less funding from the state, the Regents raised UC’s annual tuition by 9.3 percent in May 2009 and have proposed raising student fees by another 32 percent in the very near future. In other words, we will be paying more for fewer class options, larger class sizes, and increased time to graduation.

What Can You Do?

Email University of California President Mark Yudof and tell him student fee hikes, furloughs, staff and faculty reductions, cuts to instruction, and cuts to services will make the UC’s standing as the nation’s most prestigious public higher education system a thing of the past. Don’t hurt the UC!

Email State Public Officials and tell them that funding to the University of California is an investment in California, that fee hikes, furloughs, staff and faculty reductions, cuts to instruction, and cuts to services make the University system a less attractive option for the best and brightest students, faculty, and staff. Don’t hurt California!

State Assemblyman Pedro Navda

State Senator Tony Strickland

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Email the UC Board of Regents and tell them to keep the UC an affordable institution, student fee hikes, furloughs, staff and faculty reductions, cuts to instruction, and cuts to services will make the UC’s standing as the nation’s most prestigious public higher education system a thing of the past. Don’t hurt students, faculty, or staff!