ASMSU moves forward with health care plans
By Zane McMillin (Last updated: 11/25/09 12:09am)ASMSU’s plan to formulate a health care plan for students was given the green light Thursday when Student Assembly approved a bill authorizing the group to begin working with an insurance agency to flesh out specifics.
ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.
The bill, which passed unanimously Nov. 12 out of the assembly’s Finance Committee, met virtually no opposition at the general assembly meeting.
Now, a subcommittee will be formed to work with Student Assembly Chairperson Kyle Dysarz and the Michigan Programmers Insurance Agency, or MPIA, to negotiate a plan.
Dysarz first brought up the possibility at the Finance Committee’s Oct. 22 meeting, where he told committee members the university is looking into making health insurance mandatory for all students.
About 20 percent of MSU students are without insurance, according to the bill passed last week. At Thursday’s meeting, Asra Shaik, the bill’s primary sponsor and Lyman Briggs representative, said the group hopes to establish a plan that is less costly and broader in coverage than the plan currently offered by MSU through Aetna Inc. Currently, the plan offered by MSU for an unmarried student costs $1,390.
“This bill is just pretty much trying to get ASMSU into getting another health plan, a competitive plan cheaper than the one the university offers,” Shaik said.
Dysarz said the group will incur no costs as a result of setting up a plan for students. The only way it would cost anything for ASMSU is contingent upon how much money the group spends on advertising such a service.
“The university currently pays nothing for student health insurance,” Dysarz said at the meeting. “It would be the same thing in our sense.”
Dysarz told The State News in October that ASMSU hopes to make it possible for students to continue to be insured upon graduation, as long as they were a taxpaying member of the organization. Under the university’s plan, coverage expires after a student graduates.
ASMSU spokesperson Portia McKenzie said talks with MPIA likely will begin after Thanksgiving. McKenzie said the organization plans to survey students to gain a stronger understanding of students’ needs.
“ASMSU is … in the process of planning to try and set up a survey for students to determine what aspects of the policy they would prefer,” she said.
Originally Published: 11/23/09 10:03pm
alicejensen
11/23/09 11:44pmYou can get instant medical insurance at the lowest price from www.bit.ly/39pFJx
student
11/24/09 1:13amAnother waste of time and money from ASMSU.
This is just another way for these insurance companies to make money in a time when Obama is tackling the insurance industry with the health care bill, which threatens to incredibly reduce profits for insurance companies.
ASMSU lacks common sense.
What?
11/24/09 8:51amUh Student you really should think before you write stupid things.
20% of MSU students dont have insurance.
ASMSU is going to try to provide decent and lower cost insurance than already available (made possible by pools of young healthy applicants)
This is a great idea if it can be pulled off.
As for Obama’s ‘tackling’ that will in the short term raise rates and regardless wont take affect for several years. Besides, it still has to pass the senate and states can opt out.
Good luck waiting, hope you dont need to see a doctor before 2014.
student
11/24/09 10:10amI don’t know if half of what you’re saying is true. Still, let’s say it is. Then, 20% out of the undergrad population at MSU would be around 7300 students.
I bet my ASMSU student tax that the number of college students who can’t pay for their education is easily around the 50%.
Look, if ASMSU really wants to be the hero of MSU students, they should be helping students pay for school.
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RE Above
11/24/09 2:38pmBy your logic, then the Gov. is taking care of education by lobbying on the Promise scholarship so ASMSU (and by extension students) should ignore that too.
Obviously, education funding is a higher priority to ASMSU than healthcare but if you’re sick without insurance good luck going to school.
While ASMSU should spend more time on education funding than healthcare (which they already do i’m sure) that doesn’t mean they should just completely ignore healthcare cause “obama’s got it covered”.