FLICKR, SAMAT K JAINUniversities are struggling to cope with the federal Affordable Care Act’s rule against providing insurance subsidies to employees—in this case, graduate students who work as teaching assistants or in other capacities. The University of Missouri (MU) and, The Scientist has learned, New Mexico State University (NMSU) recently stopped offering employed graduate students subsidies for their health insurance. Following widespread concern from students, MU last week (August 21) returned the benefits.
“Based on recent conversations with external experts and leadership, along with consultation with peer institutions, compliance experts and internal constituents, MU will defer implementation of its decision regarding graduate student health insurance,” Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin and other university leaders said in a statement.
As MU originally concluded, NMSU has determined that offering such subsidies is out of line with the law. The university considered putting graduate assistants on its employee health plan, but given students’ break schedules and short-term stints as employees, that option didn’t make sense (not to mention it would have tripled the cost to NMSU and the beneficiary).
Instead, “NMSU will increase salary levels for graduate assistants by $0.90 per hour, which equates to approximately $700 per academic year (nine months) ...
