Health plan ignites debate
Jessica Kumor
Issue date: 12/5/08 Section: News
The university has offered to assist employees by paying half of the deductible, $750 for single coverage and $1,500 for family coverage.
Stanley said with the i-Direct plan, employees have a Health Savings Account (HSA). An HSA is a savings account where employees are able to deposit a portion of their check into an account to pay for medical expenses. The money put into an HSA is taken out of an employee's check untaxed and stays in the HSA until spent or taken out.
Faculty expressed concern for hourly employees regarding the HSA. If an employee, specifically an hourly paid employee, has a large expense at the beginning of the year there may not be enough money in the HSA to cover it, Stanley said. The insurance company won't pay for the medical expense unless the deductible has been paid for.
The Compensation Committee met Nov. 10 and discussed the plan options with Snow under the assumption that negotiations and further investigation were going to continue, Robbins said.
Snow signed the contract for the new health insurance plan options Nov. 11. On Nov. 14 the Compensation Committee learned the plan had been signed, Robbins said.
Snow said she signed the agreement Nov. 11 to allow Independent Health to begin producing materials and securing desired dates for filing paperwork.
"There simply were not other options within our budget, but we will continue to investigate every opportunity for the provision of better coverage in the future, and we welcome faculty and staff input and ideas," Snow wrote in an e-mail.
At Monday's Faculty Senate meeting, attendees discussed the new plan and the concerns about the lack of communication between administrators, faculty and the Compensation Committee.
"The insurance program is managed by the business office and (the) fact is faculty and staff were not included in the discussion, and decision making reflects decisions made in that office," Stanley said.
Sister Margaret apologized to the faculty at the meeting.
Stanley said with the i-Direct plan, employees have a Health Savings Account (HSA). An HSA is a savings account where employees are able to deposit a portion of their check into an account to pay for medical expenses. The money put into an HSA is taken out of an employee's check untaxed and stays in the HSA until spent or taken out.
Faculty expressed concern for hourly employees regarding the HSA. If an employee, specifically an hourly paid employee, has a large expense at the beginning of the year there may not be enough money in the HSA to cover it, Stanley said. The insurance company won't pay for the medical expense unless the deductible has been paid for.
The Compensation Committee met Nov. 10 and discussed the plan options with Snow under the assumption that negotiations and further investigation were going to continue, Robbins said.
Snow signed the contract for the new health insurance plan options Nov. 11. On Nov. 14 the Compensation Committee learned the plan had been signed, Robbins said.
Snow said she signed the agreement Nov. 11 to allow Independent Health to begin producing materials and securing desired dates for filing paperwork.
"There simply were not other options within our budget, but we will continue to investigate every opportunity for the provision of better coverage in the future, and we welcome faculty and staff input and ideas," Snow wrote in an e-mail.
At Monday's Faculty Senate meeting, attendees discussed the new plan and the concerns about the lack of communication between administrators, faculty and the Compensation Committee.
"The insurance program is managed by the business office and (the) fact is faculty and staff were not included in the discussion, and decision making reflects decisions made in that office," Stanley said.
Sister Margaret apologized to the faculty at the meeting.
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