Unlike previous years the DSU Health and Dental Plan opt-out deadline was required to be completed online by each individual student; no manual requests would be processed. This meant that a student who was used to walking into the DSU Health and Dental Plan office to opt-out was unable to do so.
Another major problem for students was the date and time of the deadline. In 2009 the deadline was three and a half weeks after classes began. This year students only had two and a half weeks to opt-out, something fourth year Dalhousie student, Jodie Ulmanis, knows far too well.
“I missed the deadline by one day and now I am out $253, which sucks! Ironically, instead of appealing online I had to go into the office,” she said with a sarcastic laugh. “Imagine that.”
Like many students, her appeal was processed but declined by the DSU Executive Committee the following week. Ulmanis sent an email to the DSU when she realized she had missed the deadline for the first time in four years.
“The woman at the desk told me that I had to fill out an appeal sheet so I explained that I am on four different health plans with my parents and step parents and that I really didn’t need Dal’s health plan just to add a fifth, but they still wouldn’t give me my money back.”
The woman at the desk that day was Kirsten Saliste, DSU Health and Dental Plan administrator. She has been helping students fill out appeal forms the past few weeks and has dealt with a lot of complaints concerning declined appeals.
“Applications for appeals do not guarantee refund. If a student’s appeal has been declined then they can proceed with a subsequent appeal.”
The reality of the situation is that if a student does not agree with the first declined appeal then he or she is scheduled for a personal meeting with Michael Kovendi, Chief Financial and Operations Officer of the Union. This is the student’s last chance to be refunded $253.
“It depends on the circumstance but I am not lenient one way or another in my decision to refund students. The meeting is for students who have missed the deadline to begin with… that’s the process.”
During the month of September students are extremely busy resolving class scheduling conflicts, dealing with student loans, and moving into new houses or residences. This year the DSU Health and Dental Plan did not offer students the options they have had in the past.
Kovendi says, “Changes will be made next fall. We are still looking into problems that need to be resolved. I am not sure on what will change right now, but things will be different with whatever works best with students.”
What if a student is unaware that opting out is even an option? Besides reading over a personal registration fee assessment online, students were only sent one email through their Dalhousie account to warn them of the opt-out deadline.
Gordon Adams is a fourth-year Dalhousie undergraduate who has had his share of problems since arriving in Halifax in the fall of 2007.
“I found out that Dal’s health insurance wouldn’t cover me because I am from Quebec. But even though they don’t cover me they still charge me for the health plan, and I have to opt-out like every other student.”
During his first year, Adams was told by the DSU that if he still wanted to use the Dalhousie Health Centre he would have to keep the school’s health plan. It wasn’t until this year that he found out this isn’t true.
“They never said that I could still use the service if I opted out and I still had to pay for a service that I wasn’t covered for because of where I was from. It’s an annoying process holding onto all of my receipts and having to get my money back in Montreal.”
Adams has used the Health Centre for hepatitis shots and various appointments over the years. He finds it unfair that he needs to go out of his way to opt-out of a plan that doesn’t cover him in the first place. After three years, Adams is without $759.
International and exchange students are also automatically included in a Dalhousie Health Plan when they register. The fees are applied directly to their student accounts but because the Health Plan is “International” the full year plan costs $636 for an individual.
In 2009, Microsoft conducted a study on the most expensive universities in Canada. The article was published on MSN.com. Factoring in tuition, food and living costs Dalhousie University was ranked number one.
But what do the students think?
“I didn’t really care to be honest. When it comes to money Dal never does anything for their students, so I didn’t expect anything more,” said Ulmanis.
Adams also added, “I am tired of fighting with Dal over money, they can have it.”
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