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POSTDOCS AT RICE - HEALTHCARE
GUIDELINES
FOR THE PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE INSURANCE
TO POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
SPONSORED BY EXTERNAL FELLOWSHIPS

Eligible Coverage.

Rice will continue to expedite the participation of postdoctoral fellows in the University MethodistCare HMO plan.


Awards that provide a health care allowance.

In those cases in which a postdoctoral award is accompanied by an institutional allowance that may be used to cover the full cost of medical insurance, fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the University health plan program at no cost to the researcher.


In the case of a health care allowance that is insufficient to cover the medical care premium, the researcher is expected to make up the difference. However the sponsoring department has the option of contributing departmental funds to share the cost of health care coverage


Awards that do not provide a health care allowance and are activated January 2, 1997 or later.

If a fellow is sponsored by a postdoctoral fellowship that does not provide an allowance that can be used to cover the cost of the fellow¹s health care premium, the fellow will, nevertheless, have the option to participate in the Methodist Care HMO plan. However, in this case, the researcher is expected to pay the full premium, and there will be no University co-payment. Nevertheless, the sponsoring department has the option of contributing departmental funds to share in the cost of coverage.


Postdoctoral fellowships that do not provide a health care allowance and are active before January 2, 1997.

A researcher that currently holds a postdoctoral fellowships that does not provide an allowance that can be applied to cover a health care premium may enroll in the Methodist Care HMO plan. In this case the fellow is expected to provide co-payment of coverage. However, the sponsoring department has the option of contributing departmental funds to cover the fellow¹s share of the premium. The University¹s co-payment of the health care premium would be paid centrally.


Specific examples.

Newly awarded NIH postdoctoral fellowships. All new NIH postdoctoral awards will provide a supplementary allowance of $2,000 to cover health care premium costs. This allowance may be used to pay both the University and fellow portion of the health care premium. New awards will also continue to provide an institutional allowance of $3,000 for the discretionary disposal of the sponsoring department to support the fellow (e.g. travel, supplies, publications costs, etc.).

Active NIH postdoctoral fellowships. Except for the most newly awarded fellowships, NIH postdoctoral fellowships carry an institutional allowance of only $3,000. For fellows choosing to participate in the Methodist Care HMO plan, the full cost of the health care premium may be charged against this allowance. If this option is exercised, the Vice Provost for Research will provide the sponsoring department $2,000 in research support at the discretionary disposal of the sponsoring department. Such support will continue for the full term of the fellowship, but will terminate if the NIH chooses to provide a supplemental allowance for these awards.

NSF postdoctoral fellowships. NSF postdoctoral awards are not uniform, and the institutional/educational allowance may range from $5,000 to $12,00 depending on the program. Where allowed by the agency, these funds may be used to pay both the University and fellow portion of the health care premium.

Keck postdoctoral fellowships. Keck postdoctoral fellowships are awarded locally on the basis of competition, yet the fellows are subject to the same set of restrictions that apply to individual NIH post doctoral fellowships. Thus, Keck/NLM fellows are not considered employees and so do not receive employee-based health care coverage or other benefits. This group of fellows will be eligible for coverage in the Methodist Care HMO plan, and their health premium costs should be paid according the policies that apply to individual postdoctoral fellows.

Dependent coverage. In those cases in which dependent coverage is accepted by insurance carrier, the full costs are to covered by the postdoctoral fellow, and their will be no University participation.

Other considerations. The provision of health care benefits to postdoctoral fellows whose awards do not fit into any of the above categories will be treated on an individual basis. However, the general principles as conveyed by these guidelines will be applied.

Implementation date: January 2, 1997

Jordan Konisky, Ph.D.
Vice Provost
For more information contact: graduate@rice.edu
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