UT offers more insurance options

The 4,600 University of Toledo students who receive health insurance provided by UT will be able to choose from among three different plans for the upcoming academic year.

According to Patricia Metting, the vice provost for student affairs on the Health Science Campus, there are three different insurance plans for students and the goal is to convert them into three "tiers," and the students would then be able to chose which plan is the most beneficial to them.

"We have three different plans; we have an undergraduate, graduate and law student plan, and then the medical students have two plans leftover from [before the merger]," Metting said. "But what we want to do is to make three different tiers, to keep the major elements of the plans, but open them up to any student so you can choose what health insurance plan that best suit[s] your needs."

Metting said this is the first time Main Campus students will be able to pick their plans.

"It's always nice to have options. But for the first time, students on the Main Campus will have the option of [health care] plans and not only two, but three," she said. "This is no doubt to the benefit of each individual student to pick the plan that is best for them."

Vice President of Student Affairs Kaye Patten Wallace said having the option is an advantage because it allows students to "pick their plan accordingly."

"I think it gives students choices and the costs are associated appropriately, so students who don't have the greater need don't have to pay costs that are associated with higher medical needs," Patten Wallace said.

The plan for next year's insurance was presented to roughly 15 students, faculty and staff at the Student Speaks Forum on Thursday. Information given to students was provided by Joy Gramling, a contract manager in purchasing.

According to Metting, Tier One is similar to the current insurance plan for undergraduate, graduate and law school students, but the price per year will be $1,769.

Tier Two is similar to the current basic medical student plan and the cost per year will be $2,300. Tier Three is the current enhanced medical student plan and will cost $2,705 a year. Each plan will increase in price from this year to the next academic year.

Metting said the financial increase is because of the "rising health care cost." However, the rise in premiums is only six percent over the past two years because rates did not go up for the 2009-10 academic year.

According to the information, all tiers offer full coverage if the student visits a UT Medical Center on either campus.

Tier One and Tier Two will offer 80 percent coverage if the student is at a medical center that accepts Aetna Health Insurance, while Tier Three offers full coverage at an Aetna preferred center.

Tier Three offers 70 percent coverage at non-preferred Aetna centers, and Tier One and Tier Two offer 60 percent coverage at similar centers.

Metting said Tier One will have a pharmacy cap at $1,000, Tier Two will have a cap at $5,000 and Tier Three will have an unlimited cap on pharmaceutical coverage.

Besides having the three different options in medical insurance, Metting said students will be able to purchase a dental discount plan from Aetna.

"A lot of students have been asking for dental coverage. What you can do is go out and purchase a dental discount program from Aetna, which would be $25 per student regardless of their dental plan," she said.

A second dental choice students have is to purchase an Advantage Dental Plan, which includes two visits a year with a $5 co-pay. The plan would include cleanings, fillings and x-rays among other services at a cost of $121 for students.

Patten Wallace said overall she felt the plan was "well received" by students.

"I thought all of the issues were addressed," she said. "It was my sense that the options were well received by students and in terms of questions they had; we were able to address their questions and point out to them where the plan would basically address the problems or issues we've had in the past."

Metting said next she will give a presentation for the HSC students Monday and she "anticipates a similar reception to the options." The feedback she receives from Monday's presentation will be relayed to the Student Health Insurance Committee to help finalize the plan with Aetna.

Metting said the overall goal is to provide an "appropriate and creditable student health insurance program in order to promote and advance the health of all students in the campus community."

Patten Wallace said she is encouraging students to share the information with their peers.

"I encourage you to take what information you get and share with other students because it's important that students know what's coming down and [that it's based on]their input," she said.

— Information regarding the changes in UT's health insurance policies is available on the UT Student Affairs Facebook page.