The Ann Arbor News takes
The Ann Arbor News takes a hard-hitting look at the new health premiums for faculty and staff. They talked to a nurse practitioner who felt that the new system is “a necessary evil,” a professor who describes the plan as carried out in “as fair a way as they can” and another professor who worries that it may unfairly increase the “burden on young families.” Other sources quoted in the story include a media engineer at the School of Dentistry, a School of Public Health coordinator and the executive editor of Michigan’s alumni magazine.
No graduate students were quoted or acknowledged to exist in the story.
Also, two more robberies of student-age residents of Ann Arbor, one on South U. at 6:15 in the afternoon. What is it about 6:15 p.m. and violent crime in this city?
Yeah, the healthcare premiums are a big deal, and the “regressive tax” analogy isn't a bad one. The M-Care plan falls more heavily on those with less flexible incomes (if you call your stipend that) - grad students with children see their premiums increase earlier and more sharply than single students. But things can be worse. I got my MA at a school in California whose insurance plan ONLY covered grad students (i.e., dependents were screwed). My ex-girlfriend in my program had to put her kids on Medicaid. So, life can be worse.
posted by Nick on November 4th, 2003 at 12:16 pm