During a time when health care costs increase regularly, the University’s proposal to redesign its health care plan seems to please many faculty members.
“LSU is taking a leadership role in the state at addressing health care,” said Forest Benedict, LSU Systems human resources management vice president. “If we don’t try to deliver something that is innovative and different, we are going to have problems with this current plan.”
The University will propose a pilot health care program to the Board of Supervisors, Board of Regents and state legislature this semester to attempt to separate the University’s employees from other employees who use the state’s health care plan.
The proposal redesigns the plan to do a better job meeting University employees’ needs, Benedict said.
Several faculty members agree a new plan will benifit the University.
“Compared to the university I was at before, the current plan is not very good,” said Craig Hart, a biological sciences professor. “It’s costing me and my family much more, more for the insurance and more for actual visits.”
The problem goes further than increasing cost. Among all research universities in the country, the University’s faculty members receive the least amount of benefits, said Faculty Sen. Patrick McGee, an English professor.
“It seems like now you are not getting any bang for your buck,” said Sen. Kelly Blessinger, an assistant librarian. “I think it’s a good idea to explore other options with rates being raised and benefits going down.”
Only 54 percent of University faculty and staff members use the health care plan the University offers. If the pilot program succeeds, the University hopes to make the plan permanent and attract more participants, he said.
The three-to-five year pilot follows a consumer driven health care structure and offers employees many more benefits than the current model, Benedict said.
Under the pilot program, each employee will receive a fixed amount of money in a personal care account, the account which covers all of his or her medical expenses for the year.
Any money not spent in the PCA will roll over to the next year. The plan also expands the hospital and physician network to a national network.
The current plan only covers some local hospitals and physicians and does not include some major Baton Rouge hospitals, such as Women’s Hospital, Blessinger said.
The pilot also will include Web-based tools so individuals have more control over their own policies, Benedict said.
Though the state legislature still must approve the pilot program, Benedict hopes with enough support, the University should begin offering the pilot plan in late spring.
“It’s worth trying,” McGee said. “Something has to be done.”
In an unofficial and informal vote, the Faculty Senate unanimously agreed with McGee.