Procedure for Paying Graduate Student Health Insurance Program (GSHIP) Insurance Premium

Summary

This procedure describes the GSHIP insurance premium payment process and subsequent distribution of charges to the departments.

Body

Title

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Procedure for Paying Graduate Student Health Insurance Program (GSHIP) Insurance Premium

Introduction

Purpose

This Procedure describes the GSHIP insurance premium payment process and subsequent distribution of charges to the departments.

Scope

University units which hire graduate students and enroll them into the Graduate Student Health Insurance Program.

Procedure Statement

The Plan Administrator, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBS) bills the University on a monthly basis for the insurance premium costs of the Graduate Student Health Insurance Program. The Graduate School pays the premium on behalf of all units from a central clearing account, then a journal entry is created to distribute the premium expenses among the units. The individual unit that enrolls the student in GSHIP does not need to take action to pay the premium.

The same sources of funds that provide financial support to the graduate student are charged the proportionate cost of the health insurance premiums. If the department chooses to use a different source, there is an option to change the source in the GradStar/GSHIP section of Student Administration in ConnectCarolina.  Specific instructions can be found on the GSHIP section of The Graduate School's website: https://gradschool.unc.edu/facultystaff/funding/gship/

Premium expenses for a particular month are prorated among each student's salary, and non-service award sources of the same month. For example, the premium expenses for the enrollment month of March 1 through March 31 are posted in March and are prorated based on the student's salary and non-service award sources for the calendar month of March.

The first premium expense posting for the new plan year will not occur until October and will represent the premiums paid for the two-month period from August 1, through September 30. The student's salary and non-service award sources for the calendar months of August and September will be used to prorate the first premium.

Cost Allocation Process

The cost allocation process will use data from the GradStar System and the HR/Payroll System in ConnectCarolina. The GradStar System will provide data for non-service awards for the Fall Semester allocated over the five-month period August through December, and for the Spring Semester allocated over the five-month period January through May.

The GradStar data will be combined with monthly data from the HR/Payroll system. The monthly Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan expense transactions will be calculated and then posted in ConnectCarolina. The following example of the calculation is provided:

Cost Allocation Process Example
Item Fellowship
GradStar
Trainee Stipend
GradStar
Service:
Payroll
Total
Awards/Payments Total $1,000.00 $5,000.00 $7,000.00 $13,000.00
Awards/Payments per Month (Total divided by 5) $200.00 $1000.00 $1,400.00 $2,600.00
Premium Cost per Month -- -- -- $350.00
Percent of Total for Each Source per Month 7.69% 38.46% 53.85% 100.00%
Premium Expense Posted in ConnectCarolina $26.92 $134.62 $188.46 $350.00

Forms and Instructions

  • None

Related Policies

Related Data

Separate accounts are used when the payment to the graduate student represents a salary (e.g. 515540) and when the payment to the student represents a fellowship (e.g.569220).

History

Revised:

  • June 6, 2023: Added Introduction and Scope of Applicability
  • May 5, 2022: Updated table and data information to HR/Payroll from Capital Management and Accounts Payable systems.
  • June 30, 2016: Reviewed for accuracy
  • July 29, 2015: Updated system information.
  • July 23, 2014: Updated timeline for posting premium expenses, cost allocation process.
  • July 8, 2013: Updated dates in Contracts and Grants section.
  • July 20, 2011
  • July 9, 2010
  • June 30, 2009

Details

Details

Article ID: 131389
Created
Thu 4/8/21 9:07 PM
Modified
Mon 5/13/24 9:07 PM
Responsible Unit
School, Department, or other organizational unit issuing this document.
The Graduate School
Issuing Officer
Name of the document Issuing Officer. This is the individual whose organizational authority covers the policy scope and who is primarily responsible for the policy.
Issuing Officer Title
Title of the person who is primarily responsible for issuing this policy.
Associate Dean for Finance and Operations
Policy Contact
Person who handles document management. Best person to contact for information about this policy. In many cases this is not the Issuing Officer. It may be the Policy Liaison, or another staff member.
Next Review
Date on which the next document review is due.
06/08/2026 12:00 AM
Last Review
Date on which the most recent document review was completed.
05/10/2024 12:00 AM
Last Revised
Date on which the most recent changes to this document were approved.
05/10/2024 12:00 AM
Effective Date
If the date on which this document became/becomes enforceable differs from the Origination or Last Revision, this attribute reflects the date on which it is/was enforcable.
05/06/2022 12:00 AM
Origination
Date on which the original version of this document was first made official.
05/16/2005 12:00 AM