Man, I really miss Bloomington.
I grew up there, and went to college there, so I'm glad to see that grad students at Indiana University are getting serious about serious health care down in southern Indiana. This story in their student paper highlights recent work by graduate students at IU to get dental insurance.
IU is only one of two Big Ten schools (note: University of Chicago was a
founding member of the Big Ten, and remains a member of the CIC, a non-athletic university consortium) that does not provide dental insurance to its graduate employees.
That's right: this means that EVERY Big Ten school (which, incidentally, there are 11 of) covers graduate students to some degree, including our neighbor Northwestern University. So, not only did they come out above U of C in the recent US News and World Report Rankings, they come out, along with the major midwestern research universities, above U of C when it comes to healthcare.
As reported by the News-Gazette out of Campaign-Urbana, graduate students at University of Illinois ratified their first contract with the University this week. Key provisions of their contract include very reasonable and moderate health care provisions:
In comparison, the University of Chicago Student Health Fee for the upcoming year is $146 per quarter. The premium for the Basic plan is $1,656 per year ($552 per quarter) and the premium for the Advantage plan is $2,460 per year ($820 per quarter). See the University's policy page here and our post about rate increases here.
So, not only does U of C fare poorly compared to Ivy-Plus schools, but they also don't compete with U of I.
Full story is here, including details on the many other benefits U of I students have secured for themselves.
We have a detailed Excel chart with detailed information on health insurance provision for graduate students at other Universities
This information was just sent to SOSHI today about MIT's effort to address the crisis of health insurance rates among grad students. MIT's administration is light years away from the administrative state at University of Chicago where the problem has yet to be acknowledged.
Health Insurance Subsidy for Graduate Students
In what will surely elicit a great sigh of relief from many graduate
students, Provost Robert A. Brown announced today that health insurance
will be fully subsidized for graduate students supported by research and
teaching assistantships (RA's and TA's). With this subsidy, most graduate
students will see an approximately 8% increase in their disposable income
This comes as welcome news to the Graduate Student Council (GSC), which
has been working with administrators since June 2003 to find a solution that addresses the rising cost of health care and other expenses. The
culmination of these efforts took the form of a presentation to the Dean's
Group of the Academic Council earlier this month. Keeping in mind that
the brunt of the cost would be absorbed by the Faculty, the GSC
recommended a subsidy for health insurance coupled with a small increase
in stipend as the most effective way to meet graduate student needs.
While the Institute recommended stipend level will remain the same next
year, departments will have the option of varying stipends within a -10%
and +15% window for their students. This flexibility allows for increases
in stipends at the departmental level. This may be of help to students
with families, who will benefit from the $1440 increase in income, but who
also have additional expenses. The GSC and administration recognize that
this segment of our population unique challenges. The GSC will continue
to investigate ways to further address these concerns.
While the health insurance subsidy in isolation is a tremendous step in
the right direction, it is just one component of a larger effort to
address the overall graCost of Living Issues" in the Graduate Student News,
MIT Cost of Living
for more about the GSC COLAB).
duate student cost of living issue. The GSC Cost
of Living Advisory Board (GSC COLAB), a group composed of administrators
and the GSC, has been working this year to take a look at all of the
expenses that graduate students experience
MIT to help students pay hike in health insurance
Chancellor Phillip Clay announced Tuesday that MIT will increase graduate student stipends and undergraduate financial aid to help cover most of a dramatic increase in the premium for the optional extended hospital insurance for students.
The MIT Health Plan covers routine care, tests and infirmary care by MIT medical personnel. Its cost—$840 this year—is built into tuition and will remain at $840 for the academic year starting in September.
For most students who have undergraduate financial aid or graduate stipends, MIT’s financial support will go up. For graduate students, the net increase will be equal to about a 20 percent hike in the cost of the insurance. For undergraduates, financial aid will cover all of it. The insurance currently costs a student $900 a year.
"Graduate students with research assistantships, teaching assistantships and fellowships will receive a new benefit that reduces the rapidly rising cost of Cardinal Care health insurance by as much as half, officials announced this week. The subsidy program is being introduced to mitigate the continued escalation in rates by private health insurance carriers. "
Read the rest of graduate student insurance subsidy revealed