Officials to decide on insurance plan

UNC-system and campus officials will hear presentations today from two companies selected as finalists to provide a health insurance plan that will be offered on all campuses next year.

The finalists — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Pearce & Pearce — will also participate in a question-and-answer session with representatives from the general administration of the UNC-system and health services of the schools.

Bruce Mallette, the system’s senior associate vice president for academic and student affairs, said each vendor will introduce its proposals and answer prepared questions in the first presentation.

“We gave each vendor the same set of questions to answer,” Mallette said. He said meeting participants — some of whom will attend via video conference — will use a group lunch to brainstorm questions for the afternoon session.

The UNC-system Board of Governors in August approved a plan to require all students to have health insurance by fall 2010.

Mallette said officials plan to choose a provider for the campus plan — a voluntary option that will replace the various plans campuses currently offer — by mid-January.

The two finalists already offer health insurance to some UNC students.

BCBSNC, the largest insurance company in North Carolina, provides the plan currently offered at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Pearce & Pearce, which specializes in student insurance, provides the plans for 13 other UNC-system schools.

“We want to know how this will improve on our current health services,” said Jasmin Jones, UNC-CH’s student body president. She said she will attend Tuesday’s sessions with finalists for an optional dental plan.

Mallette said details of the two finalists’ bids will be released after the presentations.

Officials have said insurance premiums would likely be between $549 and $679 — less than half the cost of the current campus plan.


Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.