Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan (GSHIP) Workgroup

Introduction

In October and November, 2007 the Vice Chancellors of Student Affairs and the Council of Graduate Deans expressed their interest in exploring a systemwide perspective for graduate student health insurance. In addition, the review of possible systemwide efficiency undertaken by The Monitor Group identified student health insurance as an area potentially lending itself to a systemwide approach. In response, then Executive Vice President, Katherine N. Lapp, convened the UC Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan (GSHIP) Workgroup in August 2008. The committee’s charge was to undertake a fresh examination of the structuring of graduate student health insurance at the University of California. Although this issue has been examined previously, a rigorous market-based analysis was deemed necessary to determine the challenges and opportunities of a systemwide plan, including identification of areas where costs can be reduced and competitive advantages gained.

The University of California (including UC Hastings College of the Law) has 11 separate insurance plans for approximately 40,000+ insured graduate and professional students. These plans generally provide coverage for services beyond the primary care that is available in the campus’ student health and counseling centers through an insurance network. GSHIPs vary substantially by campus with respect to benefits, premiums, administrative oversight, and cost containment. Current 2009-2010 health insurance annual premiums range from $1,564 to $2,874 (an 84 percent variance). The cost differentials reflect variations in plan design provisions, covered student health and counseling center services, carrier provided discounts, care management arrangements, administrative fees, as well as regional and funding requirements. The aggregate 2009-2010 cost increase across all campuses was +8 percent, and ranged from a reduction of 6.5 percent to an increase of 20 percent. Total expenditures for GSHIP on all 11 campuses are estimated to be $72,922,000 for 2009-2010.

The overarching objectives of the Workgroup’s recommendations are to contain costs, enhance benefits, and stabilize GSHIP plans, all of which are important components of the University of California’s broader efforts to enhance graduate student support and improve competitiveness in recruiting graduate students. The recommendations result from a review of competitive bids received from insurance carriers based on a standard plan design. Bids may not reflect all current costs on the campuses related to GSHIP but did provide a basis to assess interest and potential savings across a core set of variables. Should the University decide to proceed to the next phase, the workgroup would need to obtain clarification from finalist bidders and campuses that all costs have been accounted for, negotiate final plan prices with the bidders, assess the risk to the University to self-insure the program, and determine the cost to UC to administer a systemwide plan.

The Workgroup is co-chaired by Joseph I. Castro, Vice Provost for Student Academic Affairs at UC San Francisco and Jeffery C. Gibeling, Dean of Graduate Studies at UC Davis, and is comprised of campus leadership, graduate students, and Office of the President staff. Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm that has a dedicated operation to higher education, was retained to assist with the actuarial analysis. The committee met from October 2008 through December 2009.