Editorial
ASUO appointments
are very questionable
The receht appointment of Jeff Wheeler to the Incidental
Fee Committee and Katy Howard to the Health Insurance
Committee once again calls into question the integrity of the
ASUO Executive.
Two weeks ago. lames Randall resigned his position on
the IFC claiming the committee favored Students for a Pro
gressive Agenda-associated groups. The ASUO Executive
has abused its power to select Randall’s replacement by
manipulating the appointment process.
Although the position had been open since Feb. 10. the
first advertisement in the Oregon Daily Emerald announcing
the position did not run until Thursday, Feb. 19. The
deadline for applications was the next day at 1 p.m. The Ex
ecutive should have advertised the position for at least five
days. One-and-a-half days is not enough time for interested
students to apply.
It seems as if the ASUO was purposely trying to control
the number of applicants. The ASUO claims to have receiv
ed only one application from Wheeler. Ironically, Wheeler is
in the same fraternity as ASUO President Steve Nelson and
two senators who supported Wheeler at Monday’s Student
Senate confirmation hearing.
Wheeler’s application, and the role of the .Student
Senate, came into question at a meeting to review ap
pointees for the Health Insurance Committee. Not only was
Wheeler’s application dated the 18th — the day before the
ads ran — but his application did not have any references,
according to Student Sen. Tim Chase.
Apparently Nelson is the only one to have interviewed
Wheeler. The Senate and other members of the ASUO Ex
ecutive only had Nelson’s recommendation to rely on.
Senators have the prerogative to call applicants before
them if they question an applicant’s competence or believe
there may be a conflict of interest. When several senators
asked to question Wheeler, however, the Senate's role was
brought into question. Some senators feared the Senate
would take on the role of a hiring body.
Hut it is the Senate’s responsibility to effectively review
an appointee. If it simply takes the word of the Executive,
the Senate becomes a rubber-stamp committee. In Wheeler’s
case, both the ASIJO Executive and tin; Senate accepted
Wheeler’s incomplete application and relied solely on
Nelson’s recommendation.
Howard’s appointment to the Health Insurance Commit
tee also raises questions about the ASUO Executive’s
motives. Howard is currently a member of the IFC. Section
4.2 of the ASUO Constitution says no person shall hold an
elected and appointed position simultaneously unless the
Constitution Court determines there is no conflict of
interest.
Although the Constitution Court has not ruled on
Howard’s appointment, we believe there is a conflict of in
terest. The Health Insurance Committee is a branch of the
ASUO, and the student government’s system of checks and
balances is jeopardized if Howard is approved.
Because Howard is an IFC member, she should not be
involved in committees that may influence her decisions on
allocating funds.
By appointing Howard and Wheeler, the ASUO Ex
ecutive has engaged in backroom politics. It has ignored its
responsibilities to appoint qualified people without conflic
ting interests, and by so doing, it has denied the student
body a government with integrity.
r
....AMD WHEN 1 SAID“1AKE
ME TO YOUR LEADER* THEY
JUST SHUFR.ED THEIR FEET
AND LOOKED EMBARRASSED
&oa/tgy
Commentary
Insurance problems addressed
For the past year, I, my
predecessor, the ASUO In
surance Committee, and staff
have been addressing problems
with Lone Star Insurance Com
pany. Our committee provides
the l«!st possible health in
surance at a reasonable rate for
students.
By Steve Nelson
ASIIO President
Two problems requiring dif
ferent solutions have been evi
dent: 1) Lone Star was challeng
ed by local medical providers
concerning tin; dollars they
were paying on claims; 2) Lone
Star paid some claims late and
owed 1.5 percent interest
(either to policy holders or
providers).
Our first priority was the
amount being paid to providers,
causing students problems with
their doctors. In most cases, the
Insurance Coordinator solved
tin? problem over the phone.
When this did not work, she
suggested students write the
company objecting to the rate
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paid on their claim. If the pro
blem still existed, she sent them
to the ASIJO Legal Services At
torney to obtain his help in con
fronting Lone Star. In one in
stance. a professional negotiator
was called in to assist. We are
aware of only three unresolved
claims cases and they are being
negotiated.
The second priority was
resolution of the 1.5 percent in
terest issue. The contract wor
ding is ambiguous: TIME OF
PAYMENT OF CLAIM: Indem
nities payable under this policy
for any loss will be paid upon
receipt of due written proof of
such loss. The Company will
pay 1.5 percent interest per
month on all claims not paid
within 14 days of receipt of all
necessary information required
to determine the claim’s
eligibility for payment.
This leaves unclear who is to
receive the 1.5 percent (the
policy holder or the provider)
and who initiates payment of
the 1.5 percent (the policy
holder, the provider, the ASUO,
or Lone Star of its own in
itiative). In addition, this clause
of the contract was left off the
brochure. It has taken a great
deal of time to clarify the clause
and negotiate a solution with
Lone Star which will be most
convenient for students. Our
goal was to have Lone Star pay
students directly without
students having to bill the com
pany. As a result, we did not
simply run ads in the paper tell
ing students to bill the
company.
Willy Mils advocates pursuit
of a class-action suit or other
legal action by the ASUO. A
lawsuit could tie up claims
payments for students, possibly
for years. Suing would be an ir
responsible act and potential
abuse of the courts; we have
other remedies at hand and are
working through those
processes.
The ASUO Health Insurance
Attorney is working directly
with the Oregon Insurance
Commissioner to resolve the
three outstanding claims rate
cases and any more which may
surface. They have negotiated a
settlement with Lone Star, and
students who had 1.5 percent
interest coming have been
issued checks from the com
pany without having to request
reimbursement.
Health insurance for students
is an important issue. The
ODE’s past two editorials on
this issue have been prime ex
amples of irresponsible jour
nalism. I would like to make a
clear distinction between the
reporters who have been cover
ing this issue and the editorial
board. We have received ac
curate and fair coverage of the
issue and occurrences concern
ing this complex issue by the
reporters. The editorial board
analysis, however, seems to be
based on rumors rather than
facts, even the facts included in
ODE articles.
According to the ODE, a posi
tion for the Feb. 4 editorial was
taken before consulting anyone
from the insurance program.
These editors have had no con
tact with people who have in
formation on the issue. Analysis
should be based on all of the
facts, not just one side of the
story. Neither of these editorials
were.
The Insurance Committee and
staff have made careful deci
sions based on past experience
and current situations, always
with the best interests of
students as our highest priority.
I take offense at many disparag
ing statements in the editorial,
but particularly the final
paragraph stating. "The irony
of the situation is that Nelson
could have been a hero; he
could have proved himself to be
an advocate of the students by
taking an open and vigorous
stance on their behalf from the
start.’" 1 do not desire to be a
hero I only wish to make the
best decisions for the manage
ment of a $750,000 program.