SOSHI will be holding a public meeting this Wednesday in the South
Lounge of the Reynolds Club at 5pm. The south lounge is on the 2nd floor
opposite the coffee shop. All registered students of the University of
Chicago are welcome.
Cheers!
I am a grad student who has been living overseas for the past five years while working on my dissertation, in a country where health care is much cheaper than in the US, living with my husband, who is an MD here.
My medical expenses therefore are next to nothing. When my husband can't treat me, he sends me to the top specialists in the country, if not the entire continent, and their fees are never more than $20 for an office visit, and this includes follow-up visits as well. I've had two minor operations that cost less than $100 each, including the doctor's fee, the anesthesiologist, and private hospital stay. I think the absolute most expensive drug I may have ever had to purchase was something like 10 dollars, most are less than 2 dollars.
Nonetheless, I have been forced to spend $1500 a year for U of C insurance, or insurance that provides "equivalent" coverage. The U of C plan or an equivalent plan is not going to provide me with regular coverage so far from home, only emergency, and since the deductible is so high and out of proportion with my medical costs here, I have never even submitted a claim form to be reimbursed, and paid all my expenses out of my pocket.
Now, some of the five years I have had scholarships from the university itself or outside organizations that paid the fees, and I have had a job to cover the expense other years, but it still means that $7500 of money has been spent that was simply wasted.
I believe the university has no right requiring its students who are living in other countries to carry US insurance. I can imagine how hard this is on students from poor countries who return home while working on their dissertations and are working at local salaries to support themselves. I have complained about this before but the policy still exists.
This policy is so unjust and unreasonable that for this reason I have already decided that once I have graduated, I will never donate a single cent to the university. And I urge my fellow students to do the same, if we are asked to waste our money now, then we shouldn't support the university in the future.
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(SOS)HI Call out Meeting!
October 14th, 5pm
Haskell Hall (map)
Room 315
Come along and meet other students dedicated to bringing afforadable and high quality healthcare to the University of Chicago. This is a great opportunity to get involved, put your name forward, share your stories of health care problems, learn about what the University says it is doing, what it is actually doing, and who you should talk to. Well have plenty of opportunities for students to sign up and take on specific tasks.
If you care about fixing health care at U of C, and want to do something about it, come and help us show the University we are serious about getting serious solutions.
See you there!