The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Employee
health costs
set to rise
A crowd of students, Ron Paul supporters and passersby gathered on the Diag last night to hear presidential candidate speak.
PAUL
From page lA
reverse the economy's downwar
trend by expanding economic fre
dom and limiting inflation.
"We are havingtrouble and th
state is having trouble," Paul sai
"We need to prohibit the printin
of money and deal with the feder:
reserve system."
He said he wants to abolis
the Internal Revenue Service an
repeal the 16th Amendment - th
one that allows the income tax.
"The income tax is based on
very evil notion," Paul said. "It
based on the fact that the govern
ment owns our lives."
Paul said an obvious way t
shrink the federal deficit is to en
the war in Iraq.
"Just think of all the money the
we as Americans have had to pa
for bombs to destroy a country
he said.
Paul was one ofthe six Republica
members of Congress to vote again
the resolution giving President Bus
the authority to invade Iraq.
Many supporters at the speec
said they were attracted to Pas
because they see him as an hone
politician with a consistent trac
record.
LSA senior Adam Newville sai
Paul was the only presidentis
candidate that isn't pandering t
crowds just to be elected. Insteac
Newville said, Paul is speaking h
mind.
"He seems to just be a goo
person," he said. "I just really lik
his consistent voting through th
years."
Newville said he's a Democra
and voted for John Kerry in 200'
but thathe would probablyvote fo
Paul in a general election.
Unlike many other political
events on campus, college-aged
attendees made up the majority of
the audience.
d Paul said that younger voters
e- have begun to make up his base -
a theme echoed by Justin Zatkoff,
is the chair of the Michigan Federa-
d. tion of College Republicans.
1g "I think he has a lot of support
al here in Ann Arbor," Zatkoff said
in an interview before the speech.
h "He appeals to the youth."
d Before the speech began, a
ie motley crew of supporters filled
nearly the entire Diag. Some audi-
a ence members circulated a peti-
's tion to legalize medical marijuana.
n- Some carried signs like the "Back
to the Future" parody sign that
o read "Back to the Constitution:
d Ron Paul." Others carried anti-
war signs. Burly, long-haired men
at sported Ron Paul T-shirts. So did a
y small child in a wagon, whose shirt
read "Ron Paul" on the front and
"For my future" on the back.
n But a few were simply looking to
st cram for midterms.
h "We were going to the library to
study - and apparently Ron Paul is
h giving a speech," said LSA fresh-
ul man Andrew Smith, gesturing to
st the Texas congressman standing
k on the front steps of Harlan Hatch-
er Graduate Library. Smith said he
d "had no idea" that the event was
al scheduled for last night.
o Paul began his speech nearly an
d, hour after its scheduled 7:30 start.
is Music like The Beatles's "Rev-
olution" and a reggae song fea-
d turing a chorus of "Ron Paul is
e here/Helping people everywhere"
e entertained some, but when an
event organizer announced that
at Paul was still 15 minutes away at
4,. about 1 p.m., the crowd showered
r the speaker with a chorus of boos
and chants of "We want Ron."
When Paul finally appeared, the
crowd erupted.
In his speech, Paul also criti-
cized 'the federal government's
restrictions on druguse.
He said the government
shouldn't have the authority to
override state laws legalizing mar-
ijuana for medical purposes.
"I believe in freedom of choice,
but that doesn't mean I endorse
everything you do," Paul said.
Paul sponsored the States' Right
to Medical Marijuana Act, a bill
that would give each state discre-
tion to decriminalize marijuana
for medical purposes.
LSA sophomore Andrew Kent,
the executive director of the Uni-
versity chapter of Students for a
Sensible Drug Policy, attended the
event to get signatures on his peti-
tion to legalize medical marijuana.
"We don't have any position
except on Ron Paul's (opposition to
the) war on drugs," he said.
Phil Palmeri, a resident of Red-
ford, Mich., said he's voting for
Paul.
For Palmeri, who wrote in Ross
Perot in the last two presidential
elections, it was Paul's anti-inter-
vention foreign policy that drew
him to the candidate.
"His approach to the U.S., espe-
cially the Presidency, is to not take
it upon itself to invade other coun-
tries," he said. "We shouldn't be
policing the world."
Paul first ran for president in
1988 as the Libertarian Party's
nominee. Many crowd members
called themselves Libertarians.
"I'm a Libertarian and I'll vote
Republican if (Paul) is on the
Republican ticket," Dearborn resi-
dent Joe Lapham said.
-Elaine Lafay contributed
to this report.
INSURANCE From page 1A
vider Organization and Point of
Service plans will have to pay more
for equivalent care next year.
Coverage for only an employee
under the Premier Care plan will
cost $17.88 per month, an 18 per-
cent increase over the HMO plan
this year. Coverage for an employ-
ee, a spouse and children will cost
$195.86 per month, a 22 percent
increase.
While the Premier Care plan
will suit the needs of mostemploy-
ees currently subscribed to the M-
CARE HMO policy, many of the
2,100 PPO contract-holders and.
3,100 Point of Service contract-
holders will want to pick a new
insurance plan to fit their needs,
said Laurita Thomas, the Univer-
sity's associate vice president for
human resources.
Those who want to continue
with a PPO plan can switch to
the Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO,
which will cost $85.04 per month
for an employee and $385.29 per
month if a spouse and children
are also covered. Those plans will
cost almost 30 percent more than
their M-CARE equivalents did
this year.
But the cost of Blue Cross's
own, existing PPO plan will only
increase by between 1 and 9 per-
cent from this year to next year.
Thomas said the sale of M-
CARE to the Blue Cross Network
isn't responsible for the increase
in the cost of insurance for Uni-
versity employees, though.
"Health care costs are rising,"
Thomas said. "It's a national issue
- it's not just a local issue."
Members of the Senate Advi-
sory Committee on University
Affairs, the University's main
faculty representative body, told
benefits managers at a meeting
on Monday that they were con-
cerned that University employees
will now have fewer options when
choosing insurance plans.
The Point of Service policy,
which combines elements of
HMOs and PPOs to give employ-
ees more options when selecting
out-of-network healthcare pro-
viders, will no longer be offered
after this year. No new plan is
being offered to replace it.
The plan was too expensive for
the Blue Cross Network to main-
tain in light of a shrinking number
of subscribers, Vashertold SACUA
members. The number of employ-
ees using the Point of Service plan
has decreased by about 55 percent
in the last several years, he said.
Thomas said the Blue Cross
PPO plan offers employees the
same level of flexibility with their
health care providers as the Point
of Service plan. That plan will cost
between 25 and 30 percent more
than the Point of Service plan did
this year, though.
"They still have access to the
physicians that they want to use,"
Thomas said. "It does cost us more
to have that choice, and they will
have to make that decision."
The .switch from M-CARE
to Blue Cross has forced many
employees to find out whether
their current doctors are covered
under the new plan. In some cases,
they aren't.
SACUA Chair Charles Smith
said he knows a pregnant woman
who had to make arrangements
with Blue Cross because her cho-
sen obstetrician works for the St.
Joseph Mercy Health System,
which is not a member of the Blue
Cross network. She is due to give
birth in January, shortly after the
new plan takes effect.
While the woman's bills were
going to be covered by M-CARE,
her delivery wouldn't be cov-
ered by the Premier Care plan
unless she switched to a differ-
ent obstetrician or switched to a
PPO. Because employees can only
change policies once per year, the
extra $68 per month for a PPO
policy would cost her about $800
over the course of the year.
Some employees living in Tole-
do and elsewhere out of state have
complained that the new plan
forces them to change physicians
because the Blue Cross Network
only has contracts with care pro-
viders in Michigan.
Thomas said the Blue Cross
Network is reviewing similar
cases and making exceptions
on.a case-by-case basis for the
transitional period. The woman
can keep her obstetrician and
the Toledo residents won't have
to change physicians, Thomas
said.
"It is our intent to provitde
superb customer service," Thom-
as said.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - 7A
FLU
From page 1A
year of the study.
Aiello said studying the virus
in the close quarters of University
residence halls could provide infor-
mation about how seasonal flu and
more lethal influenza strains like
the avian flu could potentially be
transmitted in heavily populated
communities.
"If it works with seasonal, it will
work against avian," Monto said.
Participants in FLU-VACS will
bank $100 for donating three
blood samples, and students in
the M-FLU study will get $100
for donning a mask, $40 for being
in the control group and an addi-
tional $25 if they get their throats
swabbed.
The studies, funded by the Cen-
ters for Disease Control, involve the
School of Public Health, Univer-
sity Health Service and University
Housing.
Although Aiello said the results
from last year's M-FLU study are
not yet available, he said the study
was successful and they were able
to recruit many participants.
"The enthusiasm and excitement
of the participants last year was
a wonderful thing to see," Aiello
said.
Campus groups won't
stop their campaigns
PRIMARY From page 1A
President.
Radina said his organization
will not change its approach to the
campaignbut will instead hope for
a compromise between the DNC
and the state. The organization
will, however, begin encouraging
out-of-state students to register
in their home states and vote via
absentee ballot.
"This is something we've been
thinking about a lot, and we're
definitely encouraging people to
do it," Radina said.
Radina has scheduled a meet-
ing of the organization's executive
board tomorrow to discuss plans
to encourage the state to move
the election date back. The DNC
would then allow the candidates
to run in Michigan's primary.
"I think it will be better for stu-
dents if all the candidates are on
the ballot," Radina said.
Unless Michigan moves its pri-
mary back to a date in compliance
with DNC rules or the state party
holds its own nominating caucus
after Feb. 5, the DNC says it will
strip the state of its 156 conven-
tion delegates. Florida - whose
planned Jan. 29 primary also vio-
lates DNC calendar rules - could
lose its delegates as well. Florida
has 210'delegates. The decision
would remove 356 of the 4,360
total delegates to the Democratic
National Convention.
LSA sophomore Tom Duvall
said his group, Students for Barack
Obama won't change its tactics.
"We're still going to keep going,
exactly as we are, because we're
confident that a compromise will
come soon regarding the primary
date," he said.
Other student organizations
were affected less directly by the
withdrawals.
"I'm a little disappointed (in
the candidates). I think (remov-
ing their names from the ballot)
is an unnecessary move," said
Kelly Bernero, co-chair of the
University chapter of Students
for Hillary. "But we're really
happy that Hillary has decided
to stay on the ballot. I think it
sends a positive message to vot-
ers in Michigan."
Clinton's campaign issued
a statement saying she would
remain on the ballot because she
has a different interpretation of
DNC rules than the withdrawn
candidates.
- The Associated Press
contributed to-this report.
Channel 2 News interviews University of Michigan at Dearborn student Darius Peek during the panel discussion and watch
party held on the University's Dearborn campus during the Republican presidential debate yesterday.
GOPcandidates face o
near 'Dearborn campus
DEBATE From page 1A
"Debates often gloss over that,"
she said.
Khan was one of about 250 stu-
dents who gathered in the center
to watch the debate at a student
watch party.
Dearborn Political Science Asst.
Prof. Trevor Thrall said he was
surprised by the student turnout
at the watch party. The crowd was
made up mostly of students, many
wearing T-shirts and carrying
signs supporting Republican can-
didate Ron Paul, a Texas congress-
man.
The candidates were split on
trade agreements, somethingoften
cited as a source of the American
auto industry's woes.
Republican candidates Mitt
Romney and John McCain said
increased international compe-
tition should not be viewed as a
threat but as an opportunity for
growth.
Candidates were quick to estab-
lish their support for alternative
energy sources.
Romney said the fear of global
warming is an opportunity to lead
the world in technology. Former
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee lik-
ened the race for alternsative fuel
to the race to the moon in the Cold
War.
The candidates took turns criti-
cizing the war in Iraq, but they
were hesitant to say the military
action was unnecessary.
California Congressman Dun-
can Hunter said he supports pre-
emptive military action, like that
taken against Iraq. Paul rushed
to disagree. He said the military
shouldn't attack without an immi-
nent threat.
Paul didn't get as many chances
to speak as some of the more main-
stream candidates, but every time
he did, the crowd in the University
Center applauded. At the end of the
debate, a faculty panel conducted a
straw poll of the audience. Paul got
49 percent. Romney came in a dis-
tant second with 13 percent.
- Elizabeth Lai contributed
to this report.
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