In an effort to offset those increases, Purdue increased its contribution to the medical plan by 23 percent for the 2001 plan year. Plans are to add another 15 percent for the 2002 plan year. The Purdue health plan is funded jointly by the University and its employees. The plan must generate enough funds to cover all expenses. Currently, the University contributes approximately 86 percent of the premium cost for the health plan.
Employees make up the rest.
The benefits committee has plans to continue working through the summer to determine the best way to get additional feedback from faculty and staff. The committee plans to consider forming focus groups and surveying faculty and staff to get more input. More information about surveys and focus groups will be included in future issues of Inside Purdue. A set of guiding principles helped the Study Committee on Staff Benefits complete its assessment of University benefits and its analysis of benefits packages at other Big Ten institutions. Those guiding principles were established by committee members as a foundation for analyzing changes to staff benefits at Purdue.