A wistful Trustee Leon Bibb attends his final board meeting April 1.

Board hears health care update, says farewell to Leon Bibb

The board of trustees bade farewell to a respected member at its April 1 meeting when Leon Bibb completed his nine-year term. A resolution was passed honoring his service to the University both as an alumnus and a trustee.

In an emotional farewell, the Cleveland television anchorman said, “It’s been a difficult day for me, knowing this is my last meeting on the board of trustees. My mind goes back to the early ‘60s, when I met [fellow trustee] John Moore on day one.” He also met his future wife while both were students here. He related how the country was in a state of great change at that time, and BGSU faculty helped see students through it. His last day as trustee reminded him of graduation day in 1966, which, he said, was filled with some regret: “I hate to go."c

After graduating, Bibb went off to serve in Vietnam, applying to BGSU graduate school from there, and received his acceptance while in the jungles. "I wanted to come back to this campus,” he said.

He thanked President Ribeau for creating the values initiative, saying “that’s really what we’re all about—values. Bowling Green has added value to my life.”

In other business, the board awarded tenure and promotion to a number of faculty. (See related story.)

At the Financial Affairs Committee meeting earlier in the day, an overview of the University’s health care situation was provided by Dr. Christopher Dalton, senior vice president for finance and administration; Rebecca Ferguson, assistant vice president for human resources, and Gaylyn Finn, University treasurer.

The University has hired Findley Davies, a Toledo consulting firm, to evaluate the current program and provide some perspectives on possible changes to try to keep costs under control. The firm is also handling the bidding process for a new, third-party administrator.

Dalton pointed out that, between employee and University contributions, $15 million is spent each year on funding health care benefits for faculty and staff. That represents 6-7 percent of the educational budget and is larger than all academic budgets except the College of Arts and Sciences’, he said.

When dollars are going into health care costs, they aren’t going into salaries, Dalton added, saying an evaluation of those costs' impact on salaries is part of the effort.

Health care costs, which have grown exponentially, are expected to rise even further, and the University must look for ways to manage them while providing the best value possible, Dalton said.

The key is that BGSU has to move in a direction to contain costs and gain some flexibility, Executive Vice President Linda Dobb added.

The University has taken many steps over the years to achieve that goal. For example, in 1982, BGSU’s health care system became self-funded. In 1986, a separate drug card program was begun to supplement prescription drug benefits under the health care program. In 1991, Section 125 was added, allowing employees to set up pre-tax spending accounts for health care expenses. In 1994, Medical Mutual became BGSU’s health care administrator. A “spousal rule” later went into effect regarding spouses of University employees hired after January 2002. The rule requires spouses who are employed full time and have medical insurance available through their employer to take that insurance as their primary coverage.

Since then, Bowling Green has joined a consortium for prescription drugs and has lowered costs by removing dental insurance from the health care plan, and by choosing Delta Dental as the administrator for the fully insured dental plan. It has also joined a health care consortium with Kent State University, the University of Akron, and county governments and municipalities including Lima and Bowling Green to help curb costs.

Now, Findley Davies is taking a fresh look at every aspect of medical insurance at BGSU, said Ferguson. The evaluation process includes asking such questions as whether the University should continue to be self-funded, whether it has the right plan mix and whether it should explore consumer-driven accounts as a way to encourage employees to use their benefits thoughtfully.

Also under discussion are providing health benefits to part-time employees and changing from the traditional 80/20 split in employer/employee contributions to a tiered system based on hourly wage. That national trend is already being implemented, with variations, by Ohio, Kent State, Ohio State and Miami universities and the University of Toledo, Finn said.

In addition, the Health, Wellness and Insurance Committee has recommended that the spousal rule be extended to all employees as of January 2006.

Ferguson said a recent survey showed that employees are concerned about their out-of-pocket health care costs, and more than 45 percent said they are ready to participate in a wellness program to help reduce costs. However, the survey also showed that many do not feel that individual health habits influence the cost of health care, indicating that some education is needed on that point.

Also at the meeting, the trustees:
• Approved an honorary degree for Dr. Cynthia Stong, founder of the University’s marine biology laboratory and the person most responsible for the development of the program. Stong taught at BGSU from 1963-93.
• Set the next meeting for June 24.