Before July, 1994, Harvard treated postdoctoral fellows who
 were paid salary as faculty level employees with full
 faculty fringe benefits.  Postdoctoral fellows who were paid
 stipends from training grants were not eligible for
 benefits, but could purchase medical coverage through
 student health services.

 Now, however, Harvard has created a new class of employee
 for postdoctoral fellows who are paid salaries.  They are
 now only eligible for health insurance and have a lower
 fringe benefit rate than faculty (20.5% versus 28%).
 Trainees still have no benefits but can purchase the student
 coverage.

 Officially this was done to make the "total compensation"
 for salaried fellows more in line with that for trainees.
 None of the fellows are particularly happy that the method
 chosen was to reduce the total compensation for salaried
 fellows.

 [Incidentally, while I worked at Brown Medical School we
 reimbursed trainees for the cost of purchasing health
 insurance from PHS training grant funds requested and
 awarded on the Tuition & Fees line.  To pass audit, we paid
 the amount of the lowest cost employee health plan,
 regardless of the plan the trainee chose.  S/he had to pay
 the remainder, if any.]

 Thomas C. Richardson
 Assistant Director for Administration
 New England Regional Primate Research Center
 Harvard Medical School

          (508) 624-8007
          xxxxxx@warren.med.harvard.edu