The Graduate and Professional Student Council discussed the changes to the student medical insurance plan Tuesday night.
At the meeting, Anna Kenyon, insurance coordinator for Student Health, explained Duke’s switch from UnitedHealthcare to BlueCross BlueShield North Carolina, a transition that was effective this August. Kenyon said these changes will benefit graduate and professional students because of the more relaxed payment plan.
“With UnitedHealthcare, the students had to pay up front for the entire premium,” Kenyon said. “BlueCross is letting the students pay monthly so that the students do not feel as much of a financial burden to come up with an entire premium”.
Kenyon also explained many details of the insurance plan. Unlike the previous plan, if a physician prescribes brand name medication if there is equivalent generic medication available, students will only be charged the difference between the cost of the brand name and generic medication. But if the physician specifies that the brand name medication is required, there will be no penalty.
Another change due to the switch in health insurance carriers is that students seeing a therapist out of the area, when there are participating providers nearby, will have lower out-of-network benefits.
Kenyon encouraged students to attend Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee meetings because they are the most influential voice on the committee.
“The students are the ones that have the power to speak out when the SHIAC meetings happen,” she said. “If this is a burden on the students... come to the meetings”.
She added that the SHIAC can get in touch with students’ insurance providers and get the Duke Hospital pharmacy to work with BlueCross to negotiate co-payments.
Some other aspects of the plan include one routine eye exam per academic benefit if it is performed with an in-network provider. Also, up to $100 will be reimbursed by BCBS for glasses and contact lenses if a refund request is submitted.
Students graduating in December must terminate the insurance plan by Dec. 31 or they will remain on the plan until July.
In other business:
Executive Vice President William Hunt, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in English, reminded the group that Duke will be fully transitioned from Blackboard Academic Suite to Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment by Summer 2012.
University Affairs Coordinator Pan Wu, a fourth-year Ph. D. candidate in chemistry, said GPSC sub-committees are still open for application. He said there are many available positions and encouraged the graduate students to apply.
Graduate students can still apply for the Duke Police Advisory Committee, Recreational Facilities Committee, Traffic Appeal Committee, Transportation Advisory Committee and the Union Board.
All applications must be submitted online. The University Advisory Committee will summarize the results and distribute them to the nomination committee, who will notify the applicants if they have been accepted.
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