Students deserve health care reform.

Full compliance with the ACA is long overdue. SIU students respectfully call on the Board of Trustees and university administration to follow the minimum standards set out in federal law and to bring the student health insurance plan into full compliance with the ACA. SIU students deserve health insurance that meets federal minimum standards.

The current plan is underfunded, outdated, and obsolete.

Underfunding of the current self-insured plan, and new insurance mandates from the ACA, have rendered the current student insurance plan obsolete. The current plan is slowly being phased out. By the end of the 2014-2015 academic year, the current plan will no longer be certified to meet the minimum essential benefits required by law. The original self-insured plan was developed to be a supplement to other medical insurance and is now the only form of insurance for most student enrollees. The current SIU student insurance plan should be replaced.

Students call for a plan in full compliance with the ACA.

Graduate and undergraduate students are calling for an ACA compliant insurance plan to begin in the fall of 2014. In many cases, a fully ACA compliant student insurance plan would be cheaper than having students stay on their parents insurance plan. As more students become uninsured or underinsured, Carbondale and surrounding community medical providers – and the citizens of Illinois – will bear this unnecessary financial burden.

By signing this petition, you are letting the SIU administration know that the current healthcare plan is not acceptable. SIU students deserve a healthcare plan that at least meets the MINIMUM federal standards.