Members of the Student Services Finance Committee approved an $8.8 million total budget for University Health Services Monday night, with an amendment adding $4,000 to the Student Health Insurance Plan.
UW-Madison students and UHS representatives have asked for the reconstruction of SHIP, a plan that has been facing fiscal calamities of late.
\SHIP has clearly been a program in trouble ... for a long time,"" SSFC member Andrew Wallmeyer said.
He said he was happy with the committee's decision to allocate funds relating to the insurance plan.
""I see this as a proactive step,"" he said. ""I'm glad we took it.""
He predicted the $4,000 could go to researching why the program is failing. About 5 percent of UW-Madison students enroll in SHIP, which is currently a self-initiated program. Representatives of the Associated Students of Madison and UHS have voiced support for an automatic enrollment insurance plan in which all students would be enrolled until they checked an opt-out box on their tuition bill. Ideally, this kind of a system would increase the applicant pool, decreasing premiums and increasing benefits.
""It's affecting the whole student body'not just those with SHIP,"" UW-Madison junior and SSFC member Andrew Bryan said. ""It's time to make sure that something happens to continue health insurance on this campus.""
Another amendment, which failed by a vote of 2-6-1, would have added additional staff, including a nurse practitioner. A concern regarding the budget was that it was introduced too hastily. UHS Director Kathleen Poi said space constraints in the UHS building were additional issues to consider before adding staff members.
SSFC members also heard the budget proposal for the Wisconsin Union, representatives of which are asking for a 5.4 percent increase in funding in segregated fees for the 2002-'03 school year.
The Union receives approximately one-fourth of its total funding from student segregated fees.
Part of the reason for the proposed budget increase this year is an expansion of late night programming at the Union.
Building hours have been extended until midnight Sunday through Wednesday and until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Wallmeyer, who is also president of the Wisconsin Union Directorate, said he has seen a consistent rise in attendance in late-night programming.
