CHICAGO — Gender reassignment surgery will now be covered by the health-benefit program at the Chicago campus.

The Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a $60-per-semester increase to the student health insurance fees, bringing the total to $461, which includes about $5-per-semester to cover gender reassignment surgeries. Students are automatically enrolled in the program called CampusCare but can opt out if they show proof of other insurance.

According to the policy, this would be an out-of-network benefit and would require students to fund 30 percent of the cost.

Trustee Patrick Fitzgerald said the financial impact on students would be small by the inclusion of this particular type of procedure, which changes the physical appearance of a person to match the gender that the person identifies with.

Trustees Edward McMillian and Timothy Koritz voted against the proposal, citing concerns about using the taxpayers’ dollars fiscally because only a number of students would benefit from this. Trustee Pamela Strobel warned that this could create a “slippery slope” for the board as to determining how to use taxpayers’ money.

Koritz told his colleagues he could not support the action “ethically” or “morally.”

UIC student trustee Kenneth Thomas said not any student can qualify for the benefit; a physician would need to determine if it’s medically necessary. He said national numbers show that on average one student per year benefits from the coverage.

“Now Northwestern is not the only school in Chicago that offers this,” Thomas said after the vote. “I think it will be helpful not only for our climate on campus, but … it’s really important for the recruitment of students.”

Dating back two years, Thomas led the initiative past the UIC’s student government and the Student Fee Advisory Committee.

Also Wednesday, the trustees finalized a policy that will limit number of search firms the University employs.

According to this policy, a campus can use a search firm only if the vacant position falls into one of these four categories: search for University president; search of senior positions, such as a chancellor; search for highly competitive positions, such as coaches; and searches for positions not traditionally available at institutions.

All search firm requests will need to be approved by the campus first and then will be presented before University President Robert Easter for his blessings. In the case Easter asks for a search firm, the chair of the Board of Trustees’ Governance, Personnel and Ethics Committee will review the request.

Gov. Pat Quinn last July signed into law a bill that limited the use of search firms by public state universities to ones for the president and other ones that show a “justifiable need.” Under the law, the University was required to adopt a policy by July 1.

The board also approved naming rights and design plans for the three-year, $165 million dollar renovation project for the State Farm Center. Strobel abstained from the vote as she is on State Farm’s board of directors.

David Pileski attended his last meeting as the student representative from the Urbana campus. Mike Cunningham will take over at July’s board meeting.

Darshan can be reached at [email protected] and @drshnpatel.