UHS Admits Inadvertent Overcharge

For five years, University Health Services (UHS) has over-charged University employees who subscribe to the Harvard University Group Health Plan (HUGHP) and have dependents attending the University, Helena Heart, financial officer for UHS, said yesterday.

HUGHP provides medical coverage for dependents of Harvard employees. Ten to 15 dependents who are attending the University have been paying the $185 student infirmary fee for coverage already provided by HUGHP.

The HUGHP subscribers with dependents attending Harvard are eligible for refunds for the overlapping charges, Heart said.

"God knows we don't want to cheat anyone. It's just an oversight," Heart said. She said she had not known about the overlapping infirmary fee before yesterday.

Those HUGHP dependents attending Harvard University and eligible for refunds should write to the Health Insurance Office of UHS before the end of the academic year, Heart said.

Information on the availability of refunds for overlapping charges is not published in the HUGHP health plan or in the student information handbook for UHS.

One employee said he learned of the overlapping charges from a co-worker, who had called the UHS health insurance office about another matter.

"It's not like they're trying to keep it secret: it's simply not publicized," an employee, who wished to remain unidentified, said. "Some of the people in the employee benefits office didn't even know about," he said.

"I made an attempt to notify the personnel office about it, but in the short run, there's been no notification to the personnel about it," the employee said.

The employee said the had been denied retroactive refunds for other years when UHS had overcharged.

Heart said, however, that those who apply to the Health Service's Executive Committee, which is responsible for the operation of the clinic, can receive refunds.