News, Views and Careers for All of Higher Education
Oct. 2, 2006
Increases in health insurance costs continue to hit colleges and their employees, according to a survey released Saturday.
Eighty-one percent of colleges reported that they faced increases in medical and dental plan costs during 2005. That figure is slightly higher than last year’s — 78 percent — in the study conducted by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Selected results were released at CUPA’s annual meeting, in San Diego.
The median increase in costs for health coverage was 9 percent, and 11 percent of colleges reported that some health care benefits were reduced during the year.
Employee health insurance continues to become a contentious issue on many campuses. A strike last month at Eastern Michigan University focused on health coverage — and that strike followed several last-minute contract agreements at other institutions where health insurance was the key issue. On many campuses, administrators say that they want in theory to provide great coverage, but that it costs too much. The median average cost per employee of institutions in the CUPA survey (a cross section of many kinds of colleges and universities) was $5,652.
The CUPA study is quite detailed, but the association only releases small portions of it at the annual meeting each year, leaving the full study for purchase. Some of the figures released this year relate to co-payments on various medical services and prescription drug coverage.
On the former, rates have been relatively stable on average, CUPA officials said.
Median Co-Payments for Selected Services
|
Primary care physician |
$15 |
|
Specialist |
$19 |
|
Inpatient hospital |
$211 |
|
Outpatient hospital/surgery |
$88 |
|
Emergency room |
$62 |
Another issue examined was prescription drug coverage when it is part of a broader health plan. Private religious colleges lag in some coverage areas, but most of their coverage plans do include contraceptives. A relatively new area of coverage — drugs for erectile dysfunction — appears to have quickly become the norm in many colleges’ plans.
Prescription Drug Plan Coverage
|
% Covering |
Public |
Private religious |
Private independent |
|
Oral contraceptives |
97% |
86% |
98% |
|
Contraceptive devices |
76% |
72% |
80% |
|
Fertility drugs |
50% |
57% |
58% |
|
Erectile dysfunction drugs |
56% |
60% |
69% |
|
Diabetic supplies |
98% |
100% |
91% |
Want it on paper? Print this page.
Know someone who’d be interested? Forward this story.
Want to stay informed? Sign up for free daily news e-mail.
Advertisement
There currently are no comments on this item.
Advertisement
or search for jobs directly.
The University of Minnesota is a premier employer and a talent magnet attracting leading faculty and staff from around the ... see job
Hofstra University seeks a Dean of University Advisement to provide leadership, vision and oversight of the Center for ... see job
Nursing Clinical Instructors Part-time, Day (D) & Evening/Weekend (E/W) Howard Community College is seeking nursing clinical ... see job
Angelo State University is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to build a diverse workforce community. see job
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School is seeking to fill one or more tenure track, tenured, or fixed term faculty positions in ... see job
Hillsborough Community College is a public, comprehensive multi-campus, state-supported community college located in the ... see job
The Department of Management invites applications for a full-time position in the area of Strategic Management and/ or ... see job
Undergraduate Program Manager, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies — University of Notre Dame. see job
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE. The Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science invites applications for a tenured ... see job
Angelo State University is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to build a diverse workforce community. see job