The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
VOLUME 139 NO. 13
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2011
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
Employees face hike in health care costs By Taylor Dolven
Assistant Campus Editor
SCOTT ALLISON THE MIAMI STUDENT
LOOKING FORWARD TO HOCKEY SEASON Junior Curtis McKenzie, left, and freshman Blake Coleman, right, celebrate McKenzie’s exhibition game goal against the University of Windsor Sunday. The RedHawks open the regular season Friday and Saturday at home against Bemidji State University. Puck drop is set for 7:35 p.m. Friday and 7:05 p.m. Saturday at the Goggin Ice Center.
Amid rising health care costs across the nation, Miami University employees are facing a hefty increase in what they pay for health insurance. Each year, employees pay a percentage of their salary as their health care premium. If the employee chooses to join the traditional health care plan, which 85 percent of Miami employees do, he or she also pays an annual fee, according to Ted Pickerill, assistant dean for administration of the Farmer School of Business. Humana Insurance handles Miami employees’ health insurance. The premium for the traditional family health care plan available to Miami employees in 2011 was 2.2 percent of salary and the annual fee was $150. The percentage is going up to 2.7 percent and the annual fee will be $528, as stated in Miami’s health insurance materials sent to faculty and staff. This means that an employee making $25,000 per year paid $700 for a traditional family plan in 2011 but will pay $1,203 in 2012, a 72 percent increase in cost. Faculty making $100,000 would see an increase from $2,350 to $3,228 for a 37 percent increase in cost. Not only are premium costs (the price an employee pays to have insurance, even if
they never see a doctor) on this rise, but outof-pocket costs are increasing significantly as well, according to John Bowblis, health economist and assistant professor in the Farmer School of Business. “They’ve hit you both ways,” Bowblis said. Under the traditional family plan, employees have to pay a certain amount of their own medical expenses before the insurance coverage takes over. This out-of-pocket maximum was $2,000 in the year 2010, $2,500 in 2011 and will climb to $4,000 in 2012. Single employee out of pocket limits will increase from $1,250 to $2,000 in 2012. Once employees reach this amount, their health care costs are completely covered. However, pharmaceuticals are no longer going towards reaching this maximum cost. “This implies that if an employee’s health expenditures are large due to pharmaceuticals, they may see significant increase in outof-pocket costs above the $1,500 increase,” Bowblis said. Miami lecturer in microbiology Deborah Phillips said she plans to do some reevaluating of her insurance plan because of the extra costs. The increase will have a great impact on her and her family. “I am frustrated with health insurance
HEALTH CARE, SEE PAGE 11
Editor Amanda Seitz specialreports@miamistudent.net
SPECIAL REPORTS
Let’s talk about sex: the truth about Plan B and STIs at Miami By Thomasina Johnson
educated and we try to get the word out there.”
It’s no secret that hookups, dating and relationships can be a big part of the college experience. But some actions can have consequences: from a broken condom to a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Rumors may abound and separating fact from fiction about sex on campus seems nearly impossible. For an anonymous Miami University senior who has been tested for STIs, Miami is not the kind of school where STIs are rampant and sexual education is lacking. “Kids at Miami seem responsible, “she said. “At Miami, the students who come here have had a lot of sex and health education.” However, the office manager of HAWKS Peer Health Educators, senior Ashlinn Kipp, said many students are afraid to talk about STIs. “There’s definitely a negative connotation for STIs,” she said. “People aren’t
Reality behind Plan B use
Editorial Editor
Plan B One-Step, or the morning–after pill, is a one-pill emergency contraceptive, according to Plan B’s website. It is an emergency contraceptive used after unprotected sex or if a protection method fails. Oxford CVS Pharmacy technician Kristen Hertel said she has seen a big increase in the use of Plan B in the four years she has worked at the pharmacy. According to Hertel, CVS stocks 15 to 20 single-use boxes of the emergency contraceptives at a time, most of which are bought every weekend. Weekends are the most popular for Plan B purchases, she said. “The numbers (of boxes purchased) increase once students come back,” she said. Miami Student Health Service’s pharmacist Mary Poppendeck said students can often purchase Plan B or birth control at a lower price at Miami than through a
student’s insurance company. “The prices are low because the insurance co-pays might be higher than what we charge,” she said. According to Poppendeck, birth control may be as low as $20 because pharmaceutical companies give the university a discount.
Ides of March premiere generates campus buzz By Ursula Cauffiel Staff Writer
After a long wait, The Ides of March is finally premiering Friday nationwide and many at Miami University are excited to see their campus play a part in the film. Plans are in the works for an “Ides of Miami Red Carpet Premiere Party” at 11 p.m. Thursday outside of the Great Escape Princess 4 Theaters. Senior Kyle von Neumann, one of the students organizing the event, said the stars will be in attendance, albeit two-dimensionally. “The event will include ‘red carpet’ photo ops with cardboard cutouts of celebrities,” von Neumann said. “The plan is to shut down the corner by the Princess and have a big social event starting at 11.” Von Neumann said he is excited to see familiar faces and places on the silver screen. “I work at Hall Auditorium and I spend a lot of my time there, so it is as if it was filmed in my home,” von Neumann said. His fiancé also served as an extra in the film. Last spring, Miami allowed the producers of the film The Ides of March to shoot parts of the movie on campus in the run-up to a midnight premiere. Between classes, Miami students gathered
around the Farmer School of Business and Hall Auditorium hoping to get a glimpse of the A-List actors, including George Clooney and Ryan Gosling. Some students applied to be extras and were paid to be in the movie. Those students, along with the rest of the cast can be seen in theaters this Friday. Claire Wagner, director of the News and Public Information for Miami University, says that Princess Theater will show the movie showing the day it comes out. Ides spokeswoman Tracey Schaefer told The Miami Student in April that Miami, which is playing itself, is featured heavily in the first 10 minutes of the film. Wagner was happy that the producers chose Miami to film. “It was a unique experience for Miami to host some of Hollywood’s most popular and talented actors and crew members,” Wagner said. “I’m excited to see how the film turned out.” Miami junior Danielle Barry plans on seeing the movie the week it comes out. “It will be awesome to see where I go every day for classes on the big screen,” Barry said. “I know all the business school students are so excited.” Wagner said she hopes the film will inspire more students to look at Miami.
“Surely any positive awareness will increase the likelihood of students checking us out online,” Wagner said. “And if the beauty of the campus shows in the film, all the better. We would love for any curious high schoolers to visit campus.”
It was a unique experience for Miami to host some of Hollywood’s most popular and talented actors.” CLAIRE WAGNER
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INFORMATION
There are no current plans for any other movies to be filmed in Oxford, according to Wagner. It will be interesting to see if there are other requests from film studio companies to film here after Miami’s big debut on the big screen, Wagner said. Ides fans can learn more about the premiere party by searching for the event on Facebook or following #IdesofMiami on Twitter. Advance tickets are on sale now at the Princess 4’s website. Additional reporting by Sam Kay
The danger of STIs Unprotected sex can also result in a sexually-transmitted infection, or STI. These are passed by body fluid contact. According to the Student Health Center’s Medical Director, Gregory Calkins, STIs can be dangerous for different reasons. “Gonorrhea can cause arthritis, chlamydia can result in sterility, herpes can be dangerous to a new-born and syphilis can eat away at tissue and affect your brain,” he said. While these may be frightening facts, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia are easy to treat if found early, Calkins said.
By the numbers Since 2011, SHS has reported 20 cases of chlamydia, 14 cases of genital herpes, no cases of gonorrhea and five cases of syphilis. HPV cases have more than doubled from 2008 to 2009. According to the American College Health Association’s Data Survey for 2009, college males nationwide consistently tested positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea at double the rate of females. For example, of those females who were tested for chlamydia, 3.5 percent tested positively, as opposed to 7.1 percent of males who tested positively. Since 2011 at Miami, 12 males have tested positively for chlamydia, while eight women have tested positively. Does this mean more men have STI’s? Not necessarily, according to the Calkins. “Men hold off more, “he said. “If they really feel a threat, they come in. There’s a
STI, SEE PAGE 5