In order to assess the impact of proposed health care reform legislation on higher education institutions, a survey was conducted of colleges, universities, and community colleges concerning medical plan design, medical coverage for part-time employees, medical plan costs, retiree medical coverage, and the potential use of purchasing pools. The survey, mailed to 1,700 institutions, netted responses from 522 institutions. Finding highlights include the following: (1) 63 percent of colleges and universities offer indemnity medical plans; (2) 29 percent of employees are part-time, and most institutions do not subsidize medical coverage for part-time employees; (3) among private four-year and graduate institutions, 39 percent have active medical plan costs equal to 8 percent of payroll or more; (4) of two-year institutions 53 percent have costs equal to 8 percent of payroll or more; (5) 45 percent of colleges and universities subsidize retiree medical coverage; (6) in a choice between joining a purchasing pool or maintaining their own plans, the most important factor would be cost savings for 48 percent of public and 57 percent of private institutions; and (7) given the option to continue their current plan or join a pool, a majority of public and private, large and small institutions would probably maintain their own plan. A list of survey participants is included. (JB)