Human resources officials in the UNC-system president's office are cautiously exploring the idea of a change in the system's relationship with the state health care plan.
UNC officials are planning to examine the feasibility of creating a pilot program that would grant the university system greater flexibility in determining costs and benefits for employee health care.
Currently, all faculty and staff at system schools are covered by the N.C. State Employees Health Plan. Human resources officials in the Office of the President are looking at options for establishing a distinct program for employees of the system's 16 universities.
"We're basically trying to work on developing a pilot health care system for the university employees that would be within but separate from the state health plan," said Kitty McCollum, the system's associate vice president for human resources. "We're concerned about the adequacy of the current health plan."
Health care coverage has been a major issue for university administrators as premiums and deductibles have risen steadily in recent years.
"It is something that is continually looked at," said Karin Abel, benefits director for UNC-Chapel Hill. She agrees that the state's health care package presents serious problems for many faculty and staff. "Cost is the main issue," she said. "It costs employees too much to cover their dependents."
To extend personal health coverage to include immediate family members, employees must pay $428 per month, regardless of salary.
"We have seen a 20 percent decrease in the number of employees that have selected dependent coverage between 1998 and 2003," Abel said. "I think we should support them better."
Victor Landry, senior vice president of the system's Association of Student Governments, has attended a preliminary meeting with system officials to try to determine how university health care might be reformed.
