Prescription drug benefits for students may soon become a reality.

A resolution endorsing a new prescription drug benefit plan was unanimously passed at Wednesday’s Government of the Student Body Senate meeting.

Despite receiving support from GSB senators, the plan still needs approval from the Board of Regents.

If the new prescription drug benefit is added to the existing plan, the monthly insurance premium could increase $5 for those enrolled in the Student and Scholar Health Insurance Plan. However, the increase in fees would benefit students by providing lower costs for prescription medications, senators said.

“I have the plan as a graduate student, and it really helps a lot,” said Allison Heckley, off-campus senator and graduate student in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology.

Greg Yeakel, pharmacy chief of staff at the Thielen Student Health Center, spoke in favor of the plan at the GSB meeting. Including prescription drugs in the plan would help with the cost of prescriptions, which averages about $45, he said. The new plan would require students to make a $10 to $20 co-payment.

“In today’s environment, [students] need to have assurance that they can afford their medications,” Yeakel said. “We’ve actually had students decline the [student] health insurance plan, because it didn’t have a prescription plan. [The prescription drug plan] will help make it a more solid, all-encompassing program.”

Cara Harris, off-campus senator, said she was in support of the resolution because it provides help with the purchasing of prescription drugs such as Ortho Tricyclen, a birth control drug.

“It would be very beneficial because it would cover stuff to make you feel better,” Harris said.

Yeakel said the plan is similar to one already in effect for wage-earning graduate assistants and post-doctoral research associates.

The Thielen Student Health Center Pharmacy worked with the University of Texas’ Center for Pharmacoeconomic Studies to assure the ISU plan was viable, he said.

In other business, a bill funding radio station KURE also passed the senate. The bill will give KURE more than $20,000 from GSB’s Special Projects Fund. Dave Long, general manager of KURE, said the money would benefit not only the radio station, but also ISU students.

“It will vastly improve our facilities and the services we provide to the Iowa State community,” he said after the approval of the bill.

The GSB allocation budget recommendations for the next fiscal year were introduced. The senate finance committee has made its recommendations on what to do about GSB funding of more than 100 student organizations.

Because of a $406,000 budget shortfall, many of these organizations will receive less money than they requested or no money at all from GSB next year. The budget recommendation bill will now be reviewed by the senate.

Voting on the budget recommendation bill is scheduled for the March 24 GSB meeting in the Scheman Building. Senators said they expected it to be a long meeting with a lot of discussion of the bill.

“Bring your sleeping bags,” said Speaker of the Senate Tony Luken. “It’s Regular Allocations. It’s going to suck when we come back from break.”

— Tom Barton contributed to this article.