Many students opened their fall tuition bills this August and found a surprising addition on the price tag of attendance: the cost of Student Medical Insurance.
In previous years, UB allowed freshmen to sign a lifetime waiver for medical insurance. This year, the decision was made that students should waive the fee annually.
"We found that statistically, with the lifetime waiver, many students would come as freshmen and waive the insurance, and by the time they became upperclassmen or graduate students, whatever insurance they had would have terminated," said Catherine Engelhardt-Ellis, the director of Student Medical Insurance Programs. "Across the nation, a lot of students continuously go uncovered."
According to Sub Board I, Inc., the cost of coverage for domestic students is $1299, while medical and dental students pay $1450. The Chickering Group covers domestic students, while International HTH Worldwide covers international students, who pay $396.25 for coverage.
Sub Board's final decision to make the insurance waiver an annual choice came this summer. According to Engelhardt-Ellis, their biggest hurdle was making sure each student would be set up by the first day of classes.
"The University's policy is that everyone must have insurance...including all international students and all full-time students," said Engelhardt-Ellis. "The administration thought it was appropriate to go back to an annual waiver process as long as it could be completed quickly and efficiently."
According to Engelhardt-Ellis, the 6,200 people who currently have student medical insurance will have better benefits available to them during the upcoming school year. In addition to doubling the number of allowed doctor visits from 10 to 20 per year, coverage for domestic students has now doubled from $25,000 per year to $50,000 per year.
Sub Board also introduced a new pilot program this year, allowing enrolled medical and dental students to have up to one million dollars of coverage.
Each student enrolled in the new health insurance also has added coverage for adult immunizations, including the HPV vaccination, Gardasil, which is a service not offered by many other insurance companies.
Most domestic and international students agree that the student medical insurance plan from previous years was comprehensive enough to cover basic medical expenses, but not efficient enough for students in need of serious medical care, such as emergency room visits.
"It's a basic plan. If you need serious medical assistance very badly it's not very good," said Johan S?Ae?za, an international student pursuing his master's degree in economics. "It's not very different from other university plans for students."
Domestic students are also pleased to learn of the increased benefits the new plan will offer.
"I've had it for a semester and I'm not sure what the plan covers," said Josh Tisonz, a senior finance major. "I know it's expensive though."
While the plan is inclusive enough to cover basic needs, many wish they had more of a choice in selecting student medical insurance, rather than taking issue solely with the renewal process.
"I think it is a worthwhile cost," said Michelle Tetro, a junior sociology major. "I would just rather choose whether I actually want to buy it or not."
Engelhardt-Ellis feels that the plan is necessary for all students who would otherwise go without insurance, and the annual renewal/waiver process will make health insurance more readily available for students who would otherwise struggle to obtain it.
"It's not a healthy situation, it leaves the students at risk of not being able to complete their education," said Engelhardt-Ellis. "Our job is to provide a service available to students to meet a need that might not be otherwise met. We hope to be able to provide a program that is comprehensive enough to meet the needs of most students."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
