Health Insurance for Graduate Student Employees

The full year (fall, spring, and summer) health insurance premium ($567) was first covered for graduate students working under a stipend or a tuition waiver—graduate assistants, teaching assistants, and research assistants—in fall 2003. At the same time this benefit was instituted, however, the Student Health Service announced that it had negotiated prescription-oriented changes to keep the insurance affordable, which doubled copays and required students to pay the full prescription cost and then send the receipt to MEGA, the insurance carrier, for reimbursement. The cap—the maximum prescription costs covered—was also reduced from $750 to $500.