Our observation and conclusion is that the proposed bill does not carry more benefits for GAs at UMBC in comparison to the risks it could incur. Therefore, we do not support the bill as it is proposed.

We encourage you to read through the bill HB214/SB0658 and UMBC GSA's overview of it to get a deeper understanding of this important legislature. We welcome any questions you have and are very interested in any feedback you have to offer. GAAC is here to represent the GA body as a whole, and the best way to have your voice heard is to reach out and connect with us!

Hope to hear from you soon,

The Graduate Student Advisory Council

gaac@umbc.edu

Announcing GA Health Week!

From February 26-28^th, GAAC is sponsoring three events to connect GAs with resources on campus to help us survive and thrive during the challenging graduate school years.

The events are:

• A Q&A session about our GA health plan where you can come ask all your questions about our health insurance;

• A yoga workshop that is broken up into three sessions of 15 minutes each so we can do them at home; and,

• In partnership with Chartwells, a workshop to share with us how to select and prepare food that is rich in nutrients for both mind and body.
  

GAs,

Below are the questions that the GAAC provided to the Graduate School and UHS so that we can all better understand the impact to us of the Aetna Student Health insurance rates for UMBC not being approved by the State of Maryland yet.

The Administration is reviewing, and will address our questions as soon as possible, while also potentially adding questions/answers of their own to provide the needed clarity.

• If a student has to see a non-UHS provider after August 14^th, should the student still provide the same Aetna Member ID and the same Aetna card?

• If the rates remain unapproved by August 14^th, what can students expect if they have to see a non-UHS provider (physician, dentist, physical therapist, etc.), or have to have a prescription filled/lab test performed outside of UHS after that date? For example, will students still be asked for the same copay amount in a provider's office, or a different amount? 

• UHS has an on-site prescription dispensary. Will the dispensary continue to provide medications after August 14^th?

• How can students verify which prescriptions will be filled by the UHS dispensary after August 14th?

• Can students do anything to help get rates approved? For example, write letters to a representative, etc.?

• Who can be contacted with additional questions?

If there are other questions you have about the issue, please send them to gaac@umbc.edu.

Best,
Felipe Munoz Castillo
Public Policy PhD Student
GAAC Chair

GAs,

This morning you may have received an email from your departments regarding the Graduate Assistant's health insurance plan. The email communicated that the State of Maryland has not yet approved the insurance rates for Aetna Student Health for UMBC. The Graduate Assistant Advisory Council (GAAC) and Graduate Student Association (GSA) were not apprised of this issue prior to receiving that email. However, going forward we will be working with our administrative partners (The Graduate School and University Health Services)  to gain clarity about the situation and to better understand the implications for graduate assistants. 

We will distribute new information as we receive it. 

If you would like to communicate with the GAAC on this matter, please visit our website https://gsa.umbc.edu/contact-gaac/ and or email gaac@umbc.edu. 

Best, 

Rebecca Dowling

GAAC Co-Chairperson

The end-of-year GAAC survey is here.

You are receiving this message because according to our records, you are a GA at UMBC. The GAAC is the Graduate Assistant Advisory Council at UMBC.

If you take this survey through the link below, it will help us represent GA interests to the Administration with greater accuracy and credibility : https://umbc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9EyA4wudpv9heDj

There are three (3) pages of questions covering GA Benefits, GA roles, and GA community (so you're done once you click the arrow at the bottom the third time). It should take about 15 minutes to complete.

Issues the GAAC, in partnership with the GSA, is involved with include: GA health insurance, GA research product ownership rights, and GA job duties.

If you have any questions, please contact us at <gaac@umbc.edu>.

Thanks!

The GAAC team