Dear community,

I hope the semester finds you well. I am writing you in regards to the recent decision to continue our contract with UnitedHealth Care Student Resources. There are a few key differences in our student healthcare plan for this upcoming school year that will impact students financially. Our new plan, the student health plan annual premium is considerably more expensive for the next academic year as the rates have gone up significantly (see below for the appropriate link to find out the exact financial cost).

As you may or may not know, a group of students have been working with the Dean of Students office to find a reduced health care plan. People may have heard about potentially changing from UnitedHealth to Kaiser; however, it has been decided to stay with UnitedHealth because there was more student interest for this plan. If you would like to be involved in the continual search for a less expensive health care, please email ciis.health 'at' gmail.com.

Assumptions:

• No changes in benefits, eligibility or enrollment process, unless noted below.
• Assumes a duplication of the 2009-2010 year benefits, unless noted below.
• Includes all benefits as mandated by the state of California
• PPO network is UnitedHealthcare Options PPO

Modifications of the changes are as follows:

• Increased policy deductibles from $150/$300 to $250/$500.
• Changed coinsurance from 90/60 to 80/50.
• Changed OP Physician’s Visit copay from $10 per visit to $25 per visit
• Implemented a $10 copay/deductible per test to X-rays and Lab benefit
• RX benefit changed from 2-tier to 3-tier $15/$30/$45 copays.

We have also informed the Financial Aid Office about the significant increase in the annual premium for health insurance this year. As such, students can ask to increase their loan amount to accommodate the new prices.

Please note that prices have increased and will probably continue to increase if we chose to keep this plan for the 2011 – 2012 school year as students consistently use this plan to pay for the cost of specialized out-of-network therapy. We will continue to look into various options that might lower costs for students such as hard waivers or alternative healthcare plans and would appreciate your participation and feedback.

If you would like to learn more about the plans or get involved, beyond the attached documents (Annual Proposed Rates and Modifications & UnitedHealth Policy Brochure), please have a look at the CIIS Health Insurance FAQs (this will include information about the Mental Parity Act 2010) and the United Healthcare StudentResources.

Thank you for your time and have an excellent summer!

Jeannette “Lil Milagro” Henriquez
Student Alliance Coordinator

Elizabeth Weiman
Healthcare Committee Member

Jocie Bartlett
Healthcare Committee Member