Student Health Insurance and Doctoral Subsidy 08-09

Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Dr. Paula Sanders, has announced the Health Insurance Premiums, and subsidies for doctoral students in their first six years.

For additional information, check http://studenthealthinsurance.rice.edu

TO: Rice Graduate Students

FROM: Paula Sanders

Dean of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

DATE: June 3, 2008

SUBJECT: 2008-09 Student Medical Insurance Plan and Subsidy for Doctoral Students

I am pleased to announce that the Student Health Insurance Committee has negotiated a student health insurance plan with the Chickering Group for 2008-09. Coverage remains essentially the same as last year, but with lower premiums. The premiums have been reduced by 21% across the board, including the coverage for spouses and dependents.

The medical insurance subsidy will again be available to full-time doctoral students in their first six years of doctoral study at Rice who enroll in the Rice medical plan. After the subsidy, the cost for annual, student-only coverage will be only $500, which is the lowest student expense since the subsidy program was introduced in 2002. The Rice subsidy will cover 71.1% of the premium. It is our goal to hold the out-of-pocket premium costs for doctoral students who qualify for the subsidy to approximately $500 for the annual, student-only coverage for the next three years.

The subsidy for spouse/dependents will remain the same as last year: $500 flat subsidy for spouse, and $500 for children, for a maximum of $1,000 for those covering both spouse and children for the full year. The family coverage subsidy is subject to federal taxes. Here is a summary of the 2008-09 insurance premiums, subsidies and net cost to qualifying students after the subsidy:

* Premium is per child; however, the subsidy is the same whether one or multiple children are covered.

The payroll deduction option will continue to be available for graduate students who enroll in the annual Rice medical insurance plan and who will receive a Rice stipend of at least $5,000 per academic year. These students may elect to have their insurance premium deducted from their stipend checks over 15 pay periods, beginning with the September 30^th paycheck and ending with the April 30^th check.

If you have any questions regarding the insurance coverage, please contact Lindley Doran at doran@rice.edu. For questions regarding the subsidy, please contact graduate@rice.edu or call 713-348-4002.