Within two weeks last month, Graduate Assistants United reached an agreement with UF to expand health insurance benefits for graduate, teaching and research assistants.
GAU, the labor union representing UF graduate assistants, ratified changes to Article 12, which focuses on the pricing of GatorGradCare and its included healthcare benefits for graduate assistants.
The union bargained for expanded coverage under Tier Three of GatorGradCare — which previously only covered emergency room visits — lower premiums for GAs with dependents and dental and vision plans to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for GAs.
Making official changes to GatorGradCare took eight months.
After reviewing the UF bargaining team’s counter-proposal, the union confirmed the new benefits on Sept. 18. All changes to GatorGradCare will be implemented Jan. 1.
The union made its first proposal with changes to Article 12 in December 2023. The UF bargaining team returned with its counterproposal Aug. 15, with the caveat that both parties would have to agree to any changes within two weeks to ensure changes could apply in time for the new year.
UF declined to comment on why it took eight months for the bargaining team to create a counterproposal.
GAU proposed changes to premiums, coinsurance adjustments, expanded Tier Three coverage and lower emergency care deductibles. The UF bargaining team agreed to most of GAU’s original changes. Its counter-proposal included not changing the current coinsurance rate and offering an add-on dental plan.
After GAU issued another counter-proposal — which included reopening bargaining for the dental plan and more clarifying language — both teams agreed to the established changes. Going forward, Article 12 will be bargained every year to ensure it reflects the needs of graduate assistants, according to GAU leadership.
Ethan Savitch, a 26-year-old UF astronomy graduate assistant, is a steward for the union, acting as a GAU representative for the astronomy department. He’s been enrolled in GatorGradCare since his first year as a GA.
He decided to use GatorGradCare because he felt the plan was reasonably priced for its benefits. Savitch has chronic back pain, and through the graduate insurance, he was able to set up recurring appointments with a physical therapist through UF Health.
“I have benefited from where it’s at right now,” Savitch said. “Some of the things like dental are a little harder to get.”
He found the dental add-on plan the most appealing. He knows many graduate assistants who either make their appointments back home or months in advance. Having a better plan would help create greater access to those services that some GAs may need sooner rather than later, he said.
Savitch hopes the changes to healthcare plans incentivize GAs to enroll in GatorGradCare and use the benefits GAU bargained for, especially because the union is working to stay active on campus.
“GatorGradCare is very essential for the graduate students,” he said. “The stuff that the union does to improve it is critical for all graduate students.”
GAU Chief Bargainer Austin Britton, a 26-year-old UF geography graduate student, sees the changes as a step forward for improving GA healthcare. However, the process was frustrating and not without its challenges, he said.
“We had to really drop everything to focus on healthcare, on their counter-proposal, on parts we could agree with and what we couldn't agree with,” Britton said.
According to Britton, GAU is not completely satisfied with the agreement it reached for Article 12. Because of the two-week deadline, there were changes GAU compromised on, such as the price of the dental plan, to get the article ratified in time.
The union’s bargaining team already has more changes to propose when healthcare bargaining reopens next year, and its main goal is to decrease premium pricing for the dental plan, Britton added.
“We will keep bargaining until it’s done,” Britton said.
There are three tiers of coverage under the GatorGradCare insurance plan. Tier One includes all UF Health and Shands Hospital providers. Tier Two is an extended network including doctors, clinics and hospitals from the Florida Blue Network. Tier Three includes out-of-network providers and emergency room visits.
There is also an out-of-area insurance plan that includes two tiers. Tier One is the equivalent of a Tier Two plan from the in-area coverage.
The biggest changes apply to GatorGradCare’s out-of-network Tier Three, where coverage is now available for GAs. The individual deductible for GAs based in Gainesville and Jacksonville will now be $1,000 with an out-of-pocket maximum of $6,000. Family deductibles are now $2,000 with an out-of-pocket maximum of $12,000.
For the out-of-area Tier Three plan, individual deductibles cost $400 with an out-of-pocket maximum of $4,000. Family deductibles now cost $800 with an out-of-pocket maximum of $8,000.
Across all tiers, the emergency care deductible was reduced by $100. Tier One emergency care is now $150 and $250 for Tiers Two and Three.
The new changes also offer vision and dental as add-on insurance plans. While not built into GatorGradCare, the new plans will include additional payments separate from the usual tiers graduate assistants get pulled from their paychecks. Enrollment into either of the plans needs to be completed by Nov. 1.
The employee-only dental plan will cost $20 a paycheck with an out-of-pocket maximum of $1,500 a year. The employee-only vision plan costs $5.81 a month.
However, employee-only coverage premiums increased by $5 per month, now totaling $17.65 to balance Tier Three costs and to reduce premiums for dependents.
Premiums for employees and spouses decreased by $48, now costing $162.85 a month. Employee and children premiums decreased to $146.25 a month. Employee and family — defined as spouse and children — decreased from $400 to $224.53 a month.
Premium costs are now locked until bargaining reopens for Article 12. As Article 10, which involves GA stipends, continues to be bargained, healthcare plan pricing and premiums are fixed. They will not change with any increase in yearly stipends.
The last major change is that GatorGradCare is now an opt-out plan. GAs will automatically be enrolled in an employee-only plan unless they decide to opt-out. GAs will still need to complete the Student Health Care Center waiver so they do not get charged $1,000 for the UF student health insurance.
Nathan Arndt, a 34-year-old fifth-year material science and engineering doctoral candidate, also said the new changes to Article 12 are a step forward in getting better benefits for GAs. As the healthcare committee chairman for GAU, his role is to work for better access to healthcare alongside the bargaining team.
He helped set up health screenings with GatorGradCare, where GAs can get physical exams to earn different gift cards, and said he was glad to see the additional coverage for glasses and eye appointments and the lower premium costs for GAs with families.
The biggest win was the dental plan add-on, even though he hopes to lower the price per month, Arndt said. When faced with a dental emergency, Arndt had to use a third-party dental plan because there was no dental plan to rely on as a GA. Now, other graduate assistants don’t have to worry about paying per visit if they visit the UF dental school for a cleaning.
Arndt said the new changes will give GAs less to worry about, especially for international students who may not have experience navigating the United States’ insurance system.
“It will just be a lot easier for the majority of people,” he said.
Contact Delia Rose Sauer at drosesauer@alligator.org. Follow her on X @_delia_rose_.
Delia Rose Sauer is a junior journalism student and the Fall 2024 University General Assignment Reporter. This is her second semester on the University Desk. In her free time, she's drawing on Procreate, crocheting or exploring music genres.
