The first student focus group discussing Syracuse University’s student health insurance plan will take place on Wednesday.

At the beginning of August last year, all incoming; newly matriculated; and matriculated, international full-time students and graduate student fellows were required to have health insurance.

For the 2016-17 academic year, all full-time matriculated students will be required to have health insurance, as well.

The focus groups will help gather information from students about their experiences and preferences related to health insurance coverage, said Shannon Feeney Andre, communications manager for the Division of Student Affairs, in an email.

“We are also seeking to gather input from students on their preferred modes of communication and what types of information they would like to receive or know regarding health insurance,” Andre said.

 

She added that the focus groups are one method of continually gathering feedback and suggestions as preparation for the 2016-17 health care implementation is made.

Three focus groups are scheduled: one on Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m., one on Feb. 4 from 6-7 p.m. and one on Feb. 5 from noon to 1 p.m., according to an SU News release. Students are only permitted to participate in one focus group. The focus groups will take place in the Schine Student Center Room 232, Andre said.

Currently, Andre said, there are about 10 students registered for each focus group. In the focus groups, students will be prompted with open-ended questions for discussion so that they can provide their input, she said.

Students interested in participating should contact the Division of Student Affairs by email.

The health insurance plan will be offered through Aetna Student Health, a Massachusetts-based insurance company. Aetna Student Health serves 250 higher education institutions and 520,000 students, according to its website.

All students who were required to have health insurance by this academic year had the option to either waive or accept SU’s health insurance plan. The same process will apply for students required to have a health insurance plan by the 2016-17 academic year.

Students who did not have health insurance were charged $1,890 for the new student health insurance plan, provided by SU through Aetna Student Health. For those students who voluntarily purchase the plan when they already have an insurance plan, the cost is $2,742.

 

Can Aslan, president of the Graduate Student Organization, has been involved with the new health insurance plan since May 2015. Aslan attended three health insurance committees during summer 2015.

Aslan said in an email that he will try to attend the focus groups when possible because the health insurance policy is an important topic for graduate students and he wants to listen to what the graduate students are saying.

“I’d like to better understand what problems they have had or what their concerns are regarding the new health insurance requirement,” Aslan said.

He added that even though students reach out to the GSO about related issues, most graduate students will contact the health center or other SU offices. GSO does not get to hear about these issues because there is no opportunity for feedback, he said.

 

One of the major concerns of graduate students has been the increased cost of attendance at SU due to the price of the health insurance plan, Aslan said. He added that he expects students will bring this concern up during the focus groups.

Other concerns Aslan said he has heard from students deal with the Aetna Student Health insurance plan coverage and its high deductibles and high co-pay.

Students have also expressed issues with high dependent cost, Aslan said. For example, if a student has a spouse and a child, then the cost of the health insurance plan is multiplied by three, he said.

“I expect there to be more issues or concerns from students that we have not even heard about, yet,” Aslan said.

Aslan said he is hoping that university leaders will get a chance to “really hear the students out.”

“It is an excellent opportunity for the students to effectively communicate their good and/or bad experiences with this change to improve services,” Aslan said.

 

Published on January 26, 2016 at 11:36 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann