Letter to the editor: USD student health plan does not offer sufficient, beneficial support

Brandon Burum, is a graduate student  and president of the Graduate and Professional Students Association.

The University of South Dakota has a number of policies that disservice our graduate and professional student body.

Of particular concern in this letter is the USD-offered health plan, a supplemental plan at best, which does not cover dependents.

Many of us are over the age of 26 and married with kids, necessitating health insurance policies appropriate for financially independent adults.  Plenty of companies offer plans that could serve our purposes, including plans that are currently offered to faculty.

However, USD chose the current plan without specifically consulting graduate students.  Domestic students may shop outside the USD-offered plan, but are not afforded group rate discounts.

International students, however, are not afforded this freedom.  They are required to purchase this plan and many international students are under the impression that they are not allowed to purchase other plans.

This causes them to cover many medical expenses for wives, kids and themselves out of pocket. The policy was set in a very exclusive, non-transparent way, by people who are unaffected by the policy.

Furthermore, when international students ask various authorities to clarify policies on health insurance, taxes, etc., they are routinely denied straight answers.  Instead, they are referred to various web pages for information that is also absurdly unclear.

We, the Graduate and Professional Students Association (GPSA) are working on petitioning USD to change this plan.  USD should offer plans, particularly for the benefit of international students, that serve our diverse needs.