5/12/97

ATHENS, Ohio -- Benefits officials from Ohio University's Office of University Human Resources will host a total of four campus meetings on the Athens campus Thursday (May 15), Friday (May 16) and Monday (May 19) to present the proposed changes to the employee medical benefits plan.

The Thursday forums will be held from 10 a.m. to noon in Baker Center Ballroom and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in 127 Morton Hall. On Friday, the forum will run from 10 a.m. to noon in 194 Irvine Auditorium, and Monday's meeting will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in 127 Morton Hall.

Officials have been meeting with constituency groups and departments across campus to present the proposed changes. They are collecting feedback on the proposals -- which result from months of weekly meetings of the Benefits Advisory Committee -- this quarter and will make decisions about the plan in June. Any new plan would go into effect Jan. 1, 1998.

The proposal calls for changing from a single noncontributory indemnity insurance plan to a system allowing employees to annually choose one of three coverage options during fall open enrollment. The options are catastrophic, which also is a noncontributory plan; and comprehensive and open choice preferred provider organization (PPO) plans, which would involve monthly employee contributions to help cover costs for the insurance premiums.