Members of the Graduate and Professional Student Council discussed student health insurance at a meeting Monday night.
The cost of the Duke Student Health Plan will not increase next year, said Dan Hill, an insurance representative from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina who has worked with the University since 1979.
About 3,800 students and 225 families are covered by the student health plan, which costs $650 per year for individuals and $2,060 for families, Hill said.
Students are using their insurance in more cost-efficient ways which helps cut costs, he said. For example, a student's average hospital stay has decreased by almost a day during the past few years, he said.
A committee will be formed soon to evaluate the current policy and propose changes for the following year, said Sue Wasiolek, dean of student development. Some students questioned certain aspects of the policy.
GPSC president Rich Larsen, a graduate student in the Fuqua School of Business, said graduate students should be allowed to pay their insurance premiums during the course of the entire year rather than paying the entire sum at the start of the fall semester.
"$650 is a student's paycheck for the entire month," Larsen said.
Seth Watkins, a second-year engineering graduate student, said a dental plan should be included in the coverage.
"International students sometimes don't return home for a couple of years and therefore don't get the proper dental care," Watkins said.
A very basic dental plan would cost an extra $125 per year, Hill said. Instead of acquiring dental insurance, Hill said students could compile a list of local dentists who are just opening practices and might be willing to treat students for a nominal fee.
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