The Ball State University Board of Trustees approved room and board rates for the 2006-07 academic year as well as new health care options and premiums for employees.

About 1,500 students, or more than half of the students returning to university residence halls next year, will not experience a rate increase because they are enrolled in the university's Premium Plan that locks in rates for two years.

Projected revenues from housing fees will fund a 4.4 percent increase in the housing budget necessary to cover rising costs for food and supplies, renovation and maintenance of the residence halls, employee health care and debt service on the residence halls.

The trustees approved a range of rates based upon room and meal plan choices. Basic double-occupancy room and board in a residence hall will increase $328 to $6,898 per year.

The trustees also approved new health insurance options for employees and a wellness initiative, designed to use campus and health care industry resources to encourage employees to take a healthier approach to living, which should result in reducing short- and long-term health care cost increases.

The new options for employees are:

• a high deductible wellness plan that exempts wellness benefits and chronic disease office visits from the deductible. The wellness plan monthly premiums are approximately 15 percent less than the university's PPO plan, and
• a high deductible health savings account (HSA) qualified plan, that allows employees to make tax-deductible contributions to an HSA. Earnings on the contributions are tax exempt as are distributions from the HSA so long as they are used to pay for qualified medical expenses. Premiums for this plan are 13 percent lower than the wellness plan.

Because unused balances carry forward from year to year, the HSA is another way employees can save for retirement and pay lower premiums, said Bill McCune, university controller. Upcoming campuswide e-mail messages and education sessions will provide university employees with more information about the new options and changes to existing university health care plans.

Employees in the traditional health care plan will see premiums rise by 8 percent, while those in the PPO plan will experience a 7 percent increase. Employees in the PPO plan will also receive higher coverage payments by using physicians endorsed by the American Health Data Institute.

"With premiums and out-of-pocket costs dramatically increasing across the nation, the university is working to keep costs down," said William McCune, university controller. "All of us need to pay particular attention to the different health care plans offered so that we can do our best to manage our money.

"We want our employees to be able to afford health care, now and when they retire. If they're well, we want them to do everything they should to stay that way. If they have a chronic condition, we want to encourage them to take care of it and themselves. And, as always, if something serious happens to them, they will be well covered."

In other news, the trustees:

• approved the awarding of an honorary degree to David Broder, a Pulitzer Prize-winning political correspondent, commentator and journalist. Broder reports on national politics for The Washington Post, writes a twice-weekly, syndicated column that is carried by more than 300 newspapers across the globe, and is a regular on NBC's "Meet the Press" and PBS's "Washington Week in Review." Broder will receive the degree May 6 during the university's main commencement ceremony, where he will also deliver remarks.
• approved a policy that outlines procedures for the refunding of fees in the event a currently enrolled student dies. The policy states that during the current academic period of enrollment all fees paid for or on behalf of the student would be refunded, all unpaid accounts would be written off in accordance with current university accounting policies, and room and board fees or university apartment rent would be prorated to the date of death with no contract cancellation charges. The policy, which also makes provisions for students receiving financial aid, is applicable for students enrolled in on-campus, distance education, off-campus field studies and internships, and teacher education classes.
• elected officers to two-year terms. The officers are: Tom DeWeese, president; Frank Bracken, vice president; Hollis Hughes, secretary; and Dick Moake, assistant secretary.
• approved a resolution honoring the life of Tiny Adams, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1996 until his death Dec. 7. Adams' district included Ball State.

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Glenn Augustine at (765) 285-1560 or ggaugustine@bsu.edu.)