By SUSAN JONES
A last-minute notice about changes to student insurance plans is causing consternation, particularly for graduate student workers.
An email sent to graduate student workers on Aug. 17 by Amanda Godley, vice provost for graduate students and interim vice provost for undergraduate studies, announced a 4 percent increase to stipends for all graduate students with appointments, and set a $10,000-per-term minimum for graduate researchers and assistants.
But the email also made passing reference to “merging the graduate student health insurance plan with the general student health insurance plan to alleviate confusion and align Pitt with the offerings of its institutional peers.”
The changes included adding a $250 deductible for an individual or $500 for a family, when there had been no deductible previously, and dramatically increasing the copays on several services. For instance, primary care and mental health appointments went from a $5 copay to $30; and specialists and urgent care went from $10 to $40. Inpatient hospital stays were covered 100 percent in the previous plan for grad student workers, but now are only covered at 90 percent after a $250 copay.
For graduate students with academic appointments, there continues to be no premium, but for other graduate or undergraduate students who wish to participate, the cost is $244 per month. Enrollment runs from Aug. 15 to Oct. 15.
On Sept. 1, a group of graduate workers delivered a petition to the provost’s office addressed to Chancellor Joan Gabel, calling on Pitt’s administration to immediately reinstate the previous health benefit plan and “reallocate any funds the administration planned to spend on costly anti-union campaigns to help offset costs of supporting the health of its workers.”
“Pitt’s administration has just raised Pitt’s graduate worker health insurance costs by 400%-600% above the costs that were in place when we accepted our appointments,” the petition said. “There was no prior notification or consultation before these increases were made. These healthcare increases are hitting some of the lowest-paid employees at the University of Pittsburgh, and ultimately requiring us to make decisions about spending money on healthcare or other living expenses.”
The petition had more than 1,300 signatures, according to officials from the United Steelworkers, which is supporting graduate workers while they raise interest and build support for a union among their co-workers.
An email on Aug. 28 from interim Provost Joe McCarthy said that he recognizes “that the University’s actions — especially by not providing advance notice of the change and unintentionally appearing to minimize any student health issue and subsequent cost — have caused significant anxiety and confusion, and I deeply regret that.”
The decision to merge the plans was actually made last year, he said, and was “intended to provide the University with greater leverage in negotiating lower rates for all student health plans in the future.”
A Pitt spokesperson said in a statement: “The University hears the concerns spelled out in this petition and is committed to helping students who might face financial difficulties as a result of the change. We will work with students over the coming year to consider the best path forward and to work together to define a new health insurance plan.”
In response to the complaints, the University has created the Pitt Student Health Insurance Medical Hardship Assistance Fund to “assist students enrolled in the Pitt Student Health Insurance Plan who face financial hardships due to medical costs.” The new medical hardship assistance fund has a higher maximum request limit than the general emergency fund. Pitt also is providing free access to a Student Assistance Program through LifeSolutions.
McCarthy also will create a task force that will include both graduate and undergraduate students, in addition to University staff and administrators, “to engage in the process of plan design for future health insurance coverage that is offered to all our students.”
Senate President Robin Kear said at the Sept. 6 Faculty Assembly meeting that she will be directing the Senate’s Benefits & Welfare committee to look into how these increases occurred and how students and staff can have more say in these decisions going forward.
Personal impact
For graduate students like Spencer Fricard, who is working on a Ph.D. in French and masters in gender studies, the insurance changes are have a very real impact.
Fricard has been in the process of transitioning for the past 16 months and had received confirmation that they could have gender-affirming surgery next summer, right before getting notice of the insurance changes. The previous health plan would have covered the hospital stay at 100 percent, but now will result in Fricard paying the maximum out-of-pocket expense of $4,200. This academic year, Fricard will receive a $23,000 stipend.
“This has changed everything for me,” said Fricard, who was saving to cover living expenses while being off with no academic appointment during the summer, but now must save for the surgery too. Because Fricard is a French citizen on a student visa, they can’t pick up another job and is relying on a GoFundMe page to help with the surgery expenses and those associated with required therapist and doctor appointments before that.
Fricard noted the 4 percent increase in the stipends helps, but won’t cover the increased cost of health care. Fricard said they know several other graduate student workers who are dealing with chronic illnesses that are now “afraid to go to the doctor because they don’t know what it will cost.”
Fricard also is concerned about what private medical information will be needed to apply for the Medical Hardship Assistance Fund.
Graduate union
Graduate student workers have been trying to unionize for several years. The last attempt ended with a vote in 2019, in which students ultimately voted to not unionize by a vote of 712 to 675. The USW originally appealed the results of the April 2019 election. The union later claimed that the University used unfair labor practices during the election. The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board ultimately decided that these practices did not sway the outcome of the election.
The USW said in a statement this week that grad workers, “are ultimately looking to have a say in future decisions made about their working conditions.”
United Steelworkers organizer Richard Granger told The Pitt News that an aspirational date for a grad student union election should be “sometime between today and the end of this year.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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