Stephanie Farley

Jennifer Foster, a religious studies graduate teaching assistant, is unhappy with the University of Kansas’ insurance provider. The contract with MEGA, the provider chosen by the state for the University, expires in October. Negotiations for insurance might be looked at by the GTA coalition, Foster said.

The union for graduate teaching assistants at the University of Kansas wants another option for health insurance available to students.

Health benefits are one of the biggest concerns among GTAs, said Jennifer Foster, Leawood graduate student and member of the union. Improving those benefits has proved to be a challenge.

The policy is available to all students, but graduate students use it the most, and GTAs aren’t satisfied with the quality of coverage the policy provides, Foster said.

“We don’t pay much for insurance, but it sucks,” she said.

All Regents universities offer a health insurance plan through the MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company. The company was the only insurance provider to bid on a policy for students at the Regents universities, said Gavin Young, media relations director for the state of Kansas.

Because the group of students who use the policy is so small, few insurance companies choose to bid for the right to insure students.

“From our perspective, this is a very narrowly defined market and there are only a handful of vendors available to bid,” he said.

GTAs aren’t satisfied with the coverage, however.

Preventive care, such as yearly physicals, are not provided for under the policy. The only preventive care paid for under the policy is one yearly Pap smear for women.

There are students, though, that need yearly physicals due to chronic illness or a family history, Foster said.

Emergency coverage is not acceptable either, she said. There is a $2,000 deductible on emergency costs before the company will pay.

After the deductible, the company will pay about 80 percent of the charges, with a cap of $100,000, depending on the amount of coverage that is purchased.

Young said there were complaints about the company’s speed at filing claims and not covering certain services.

Though the structure of the company’s policy determines what services are covered, the company has acknowledged problems with processing claims and is working toward improvement, he said.

“It should be pointed out that complaints about insurance are not unexpected,” Young said.

Contract negotiations for GTAs are being planned for October, Foster said. One proposal is to ask the University if students can approach insurance companies with a plan developed by students to provide more thorough coverage, even if it means higher premiums.