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Graduate students council struggles to take position on changes to graduate health care

September 14, 2014

Behind closed doors Friday, members of the Council of Graduate Students struggled for nearly two hours to reach a consensus about how to best adapt to changes mandated by the Affordable Care Act, which has implications for graduate students.

Recently at MSU, the Council of Graduate Students issued a statement regarding changes made to the Graduate Assistant Health Care Plans. The COGS e-board published a memorandum to all members and some university administrations on August 28.

The Affordable Care Act was passed as a way to make cheaper and higher quality healthcare available to more Americans. Though some oppose it, organizations nationwide are now making changes to their policies to accommodate the law.

For graduate students’ health care plan, that has meant an increase in costs.

“COGS acknowledges that an increase in the 2014-2015 Student Health Plan was necessary due to the federally-mandated Affordable Care Act, utilization changes, and medical costs inflations,” the statement said.

However, not all of COGS agreed with this stance.

At the first COGS general assembly meeting on Sept. 3, the majority of members voted to retract the statement, and explore other opinions regarding changes to the health care policy.

Because the assembly had established quorum — the necessary number of members present to make a meeting valid — the vote passed.

But after the meeting had ended, the executive board deliberated privately that quorum should not have been established and that the results of the meeting’s votes would be invalidated.

The meeting was never officially adjourned, and left many of the votes in a state of questionable validity.

The overturn would have cancelled out several students’ newly elected positions on important academic review boards where they represent graduate students.

However, due to the frustration of the members, the executive board capitulated and let the appointments stand.

“They did all of this without consulting the general membership, it’s unconstitutional,” chair of the ad-hoc health committee Robert Vankirk said. “We’re a little baffled at their change in stance and have been searching for the reason to no avail”.

On Friday September 12, the ad-hoc health care subcommittee met to fact check and further discuss the changes to the health care policy, as well as the council’s stand on the issue.

The subcommittee was made up of representatives from throughout COGS who took interest in the changing health care policies. The goals set during the meeting included reaching out to the administration for facts and data regarding the changed policies as well as statements from organizations and students who either opposed or supported the changes.

“It’s an information gathering committee,” Vankirk said. “We aren’t charged with making any official decisions”.

Members of the subcommittee will contact COGS lawyers, the Faculty Senate and health care advisors for information regarding how students will be affected. All of this information is aimed to be gathered by the next general meeting of COGS, on Oct. 8.

The goal is to give an update to the full council, not make official decisions, COGS President Emily Bank said.

“This is a complex issue that deals with the compensation of all graduate assistants. We can’t rush this because it’s going to take time to collect the facts,” Bank said. “We shouldn’t expect to have something ready for general council to vote on on October 8.”

The ad-hoc health care subcommittee wants to get as many opinions on the issue as possible, reaching out to the MSU administration as well as the Graduate Employees Union and Student Health Services.

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The subcommittee will continue meeting over the next several weeks to gather information.

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