At the University of New Mexico we are trying to put in place a health
insurance plan for TAs and RAs.  The funding became available recently
for students paid through I&G funds, and we are now scrambling to complete
our planning before the semester ends.  We would appreciate your responses
to the questions below.  Please e-mail your response to me
directly at xxxxxx@unm.edu.

 Thank you in advance for your assistance.  I would be glad to post a
summary of the
responses received.

Ann Powell
Special Assistant to the Associate Provost for Research
Office of Research Services
University of New Mexico
Phone:  (505) 277-2256
FAX:  (505) 277-5567
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Health Insurance for Graduate TAs and RAs

Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions related to
health insurance for graduate students holding assistantships.  In the
questions below, TAs refer to students holding Teaching Assistantships
or other similar positions, generally paid from unrestricted (I&G)
funds.  RAs refer to students holding Research Assistantships or similar
positions, generally paid from restricted funds.  Thank you in advance
for completing these questions.  Please feel free to add additional
comments to your responses.

 TA=Teaching Assistant or similar positions
RA=Research Assistant or similar positions

 1.    Please indicate with a YES or NO if you subsidize (or will be
 subsidizing in Fall 2000) any part of the health insurance premium for:
 TAs
 RAs

 1a.  If you do subsidize the health insurance premium, are students
 able to maintain their FICA exemption?  If so, how do you accomplish this?

 IF YOU ANSWERED "NO" FOR BOTH TAs and TAs, NO FURTHER RESPONSE IS
NECESSARY.

 2.    What is the total cost of the premium for each participant?
 TAs
 RAs

 3.    How much of this cost, if any, is paid by the student?
 TAs
 RAs

 4.    Please indicate with a YES or NO if you subsidize (or will be
subsidizing in Fall 2000) any part of the health insurance premium for:
 Spouses/dependents of TAs
 Spouses/dependents of RAs

 5.    What is the total cost of the premium for the spouses/dependents
 and how much do you subsidize for:
 Spouses/dependents of TAs
 Spouses/dependents of RAs

 6.    What is the FTE eligibility requirement for subsidized health care
 premiums for:
 TAs
 RAs

 6a.    If the FTE drops below the minimum during the semester, what
 happens?

 7.    What is the minimum credit hour enrollment for subsidized health
 care premiums for:
 TAs
 RAs

 7a.    If the student's credit hour enrollment drops below the minimum
 during the semester, what happens?

 8.    Please specify any additional eligibility requirements for
 subsidized health care premiums for:
 TAs
 RAs

9.    Do you subsidize the health insurance premium semester by semester
 or by the year?

 10.    If a student on an assistantship in the fall semester is not
 continued on the assistantship in the spring semester, do you pay the
 premium for the spring semester or just the semester in which the
 student held the assistantship?

 11.    If a student is on an assistantship both fall and spring
 semesters, do you pay the premium during the summer?

 12.  What health insurance plan do you offer graduate students holding
 TAs or RAs?
 The health insurance plan offered to all students
 The health insurance plan offered by the National Association of
 Graduate-Professional Students
 Provide students a set amount to be applied to their plan of
 choice
 Other (please specify)

 13.    Is health insurance mandatory for all TAs and RAs?

 14.     If you answered YES to #13, is there a Hard Waiver out of the
 plan (e.g., students certify that they have comparable coverage
 elsewhere)?

 15.    Who oversees the administration of your subsidized health
 insurance plan for graduate students?

 16.    Do you recover the costs of RA health insurance from contracts
 and grants?  If so, what are the mechanics?

 17.    What is the total number of graduate students at your
 institution?

 18.    How many of these graduate students hold an assistantship (TA,
 RA, or both)?

 19.    How many of these students with assistantships participate in the
 health insurance premium subsidy?

 20.    Do you include a tuition waiver for graduate students holding TAs
 and RAs?  If so, what are the details (e.g., full waiver, non-resident
 waiver, etc.)?  What is the dollar value of this waiver?

 21.     What other benefits are offered to graduate students on
 assistantships at your institution?

22.      Are you from a small, medium or large institution?

23.      Are you from a public or private institutionk?

24.      Approximately what was your volume of sponsored awards (FY99)?

 Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.

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