The Graduate and Professional Student Council discussed a new health plan at its Tuesday night general body meting.
Recent complaints against the customer service of the University's current insurance plan manager, Koster Insurance, led a group of graduate and professional students to find a new alternative.
Although Koster manages insurance plans, coverage is currently provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
David Kahler, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in civil and environmental engineering, spearheaded the research and recommendation to switch insurance coverage to United Healthcare and management to the Student Resources branch of the company.
"For some people, when they're sick, customer service is a big deal," said Eric Vance, a sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in statistics. "You don't want to have to struggle with the insurance company and [your] illness."
He added that UHSR only has one number to call and will eliminate the hassle of using two companies.
Last year, graduate and professional students cashed in less damages than BCBSNC had expected, but received no refund because the current plan does not have a contractual payback agreement. Vance said the new plan will remedy that, potentially refunding the student body millions of dollars.
Other benefits include automatic enrollment, discounts for dental insurance and lower rates for nearly every age group.
The new plan and accompanying perks would extend to the undergraduate health plan, if the administration chooses to make the switch.
The GPSC Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee is proposing the plan to the administration and hopes to get approval before the 2008-2009 academic year.
In other business:
An anonymous motion presented by Attorney General Yvonne Ford, a second-year Ph.D. candidate at the nursing school, sparked controversy in the general body.
The motion proposed equally splitting the president's honorarium-a $3,000 sum awarded to the president at the end of the term-among members of the executive board, giving each approximately $300.
"It's really not about the money," said President Crystal Brown, a third-year law student. "We had an excellent executive board, and if [the split] was something we wanted to do, I wouldn't take it personally."
The executive board was asked to leave during the discussion and general body members said the motion is an insult to Brown after she has accomplished so much in her term.
The council questioned whether the author of the motion would benefit from the distribution and unanimously voted to reject it.
GPSC will be holding elections for next year's executive body at their next meeting, April 8.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.