Fun with $
Ah, the ol’ UNH health insurance thing. I haven’t blogged about it for awhile, so here goes.
I got an email today from the co-prez of the Graduate Student Organization:
Recently, a bill was brought to the state House of Representatives that would make it illegal for UNH (or any public institution) to have a health insurance mandate.We were able to obtain our amazing health insurance plan as a result of the university mandate, and we’ll lose this plan if this bill passes. We believe this measure can be defeated, but we need to take immediate action to ensure that the state hears the voice of the students. At our meeting tomorrow, we will provide more information and we will discuss possible courses of action for the GSO…
I like how the email uses the pronoun “we,” as though all readers were nodding vigorously in agreement all along the way.
Health insurance is mandatory for the entire university, a policy which effectively raises the cost of education $1300 per year for everyone who doesn’t get their health insurance paid for like I do — in other words, for a whole buttload of undergrads. Where does that money go? Directly to the provider, which must be licking its chops every September at the prospect of several thousand unwilling clients who just happen to be among one of the healthiest demographics on the planet. Talk about a good investment.
Hell, I hardly use my insurance either, so the Grad School is basically donating $1300 to Harvard Pilgrim Health Care on my behalf each year, too. Yeah, really “amazing” plan we’ve got there.
I know the GSO and the grad school fought hard to get health insurance for grad students, but in doing so, did they effectively shut out even a few lower-income undergrads from attending? If so, that’s not a deal worth making. Even when we consider the grad students with kids and real medical bills, the price seems steep.
If a university-wide requirement is really a well-intentioned effort to make sure no one goes without coverage, as its advocates say, why not charge a medical fee at UNH, put it into a fund, and pay students back the unused money, proportionally, at the end of the year? Nah, that’s not going to happen, because this requirement is actually just a business deal.
I have an idea: support the bill. Get the university to fund health care for grads independently of any university-wide deal. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do, and other universities have done it. Riding the backs of undergraduates isn’t the way to go.