CSU - Chinese Students & Scholars Association

During the afternoon of March 17, 2008 a follow-up meeting discussing health insurance issues informed students of several big improvements in both the policy and in the whole insurance process.  Mark Hallet, Director of International Student & Scholar Services, Steve Blom, Director of Hartshorn Health Services, Jody Donovan, Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs and several of Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) representatives participated in the meeting, which was held in the Student Affairs Conference Room in the Administration Building on the Colorado State University (CSU) Campus.

Beginning in the fall semester of 2008, the health benefit for graduate assistantships will be increased from $200/semester (2007-2008) to $350/ semester. Then the benefit will increase to $500/semester in the 2009-2010 academic year, and will finally reach $650/semester in the 2010-2011 academic year, according to Blom. He also mentioned that the benefit would only apply to those students who will purchase CSU’s insurance plan.

When talking about the changes in the appeals process, Blom thanked the Chinese students for the concerns they have brought to their attention. In order to address the major concerns brought up by the members of CSSA, CSU will allow student members, including international students, in the Student Insurance Appeals Committee for the first time.  The Appeals Committee is ready to receive the appeals from the students, Blom said.

“We heard a lot of concerns from students, and we take the concerns seriously. We can’t always control prices, but we can control processes. The concerns that students have will help to improve the process,” said Hallet.

Hartshorn Health Services put a completed insurance comparison form online on February 2008, which also came from the suggestion of Chinese students. Guoliang (Tony) Wang, the insurance representative of CSSA of CSU, proposed that there should be more detailed descriptions/links in explanation of the completed minimum requirements for equivalent insurance plans. Blom discussed many details and individual case about a specific plan in which CSSA representatives were interested.

For the appeal, Blom agreed to use the criteria the Hartshorn Health Services had used when they denied the waiver request to review the decision. But the expectation of refunding the differences between two plans from some representatives of CSSA for the appeals did not reach agreement and led to further discussion. 

“Everybody has a better understanding (of insurance issues). We try to meet Chinese students’ interests. I look forward to more ongoing dialogue,” Blom said.

Fang Wang, CSSA president, and Zeyu Sun, CSSA vice president, agreed that they see much improvement in the work done about the issue, especially in terms of the appeals.

This is the second meeting that the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs has put together to address the concerns that CSSA of CSU has raised. “Blanche Hughes, the Vice President, really cares about students, and she wants students treated fairly and respectfully,” Donovan said.

Reported by Jessica Gu

March 17, 2008