In response to mounting concern that many students are either uninsured or underÐinsured, the Office of Student Affairs recently commissioned and outside consulting agency to study the state of health care at the University.
The Office of Student Affairs commissioned Stephen L. Beckley & Associates (SLBA) to undertake a report concerning the present state of student health care at the University, as well as possible solutions if there are indeed problems. The result: SLBA determined that student health care needs can no longer be met by existing plans. To address the problem, the company recommended the adoption of a universal and mandatory health care plan.
Under the new proposal, current University health care options would be replaced by a UniversityÐwide system. For an extra fee of approximately $247.50 per semester, the services provided by the University Health Service would be expanded into a comprehensive health care plan. With a current UHS fee of $94.50 per semester, the $247.50 per semester increase in fee would bring the total fee to $341.50 a semester. Since the plan is mandatory, financial aid would apply for the fee. The plan also covers summer months, when most students are not in school.
Under the proposal, which is essentially a prototypical managed health care plan, students would use UHS as a primary care service. If more intensive care is necessary, UHS doctors would make referrals to specialists working within the planÕs hospital network. The plan is comparable to leading managed care health plans, and in addition to copays, the plan covers 90% of inpatient care, with a maximum outÐofÐpocket expense of XXXX.
In addition to covering varsity and intramural sports injuries, and providing prescription drug benefits, the plan would also include mental health coverage for all students.
When enacted, the plan would be mandatory, meaning that all students would be required to participate, unless they could conclusively prove that there current health insurance was equal to, or better than, the program being offered by the university. The proposal outlines criteria for comparative evaluation of health care plans.
The plan was partly constructed around statistics taken from the Rackham School of Graduate Studies. These data show that approximately 13 percent of Rackham students are uninsured. By extrapolating these statistics with national demographics, the report concluded that not enough undergraduates were insured, and too many students were underÐinsurred.
The plan estimates that approximately 70 percent of all students at the University would be covered by the plan. Furthermore, the proposal states that a 70 percent participation rate is necessary to maintain a cost effective risk pool.
Vice-President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford, who commissioned the study with Jackie McClain and Susan Lipschutz, said that "there has been interest at the university for some time about student health insurance."
As well as consulting with Beckley, Hartford has involved the Michigan Student Assembly, using MSA President Flint Wainess as a student liason. In addition, the MSAÕs Health Issues Commission issued a press release that voiced serious concerns about the plan. The concerns include the arbitrary nature of comparing health plans, the accuracy of the predicted risk pool, and the actual benefit to students who cannot afford health care. According to Gerard Castaneda, Chair of the Health Issues Commission,
The fate of the plan now rests with MSA. If MSA votes to approve the proposal, with or without minor modifications, then the Board of Regents is expected to accept and enact the plan.
Students wishing to find out more about the plan should attend an informative lecture, conducted by Stephen L. Beckley himself. See box above for more information. MR