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Students have until Jan. 30 to claim their $453 back
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The Health and Wellness Center at Boise State University offers uninsured students an opportunity for coverage, but students already insured by another provider are charged $453 anyway.
Full-time students attending classes in Idaho are required to maintain adequate health insurance, and only have until Jan. 30 to waive their mandatory Student Health Insurance Plan if enrolled with an alternative insurance provider that meets comparable coverage requirements.
In March 2003, the State Board of Education introduced a bill requiring full-time students to have insurance coverage. Consequently, every time a BSU student registers for eight or more academic credits, a SHIP fee of $453 will be automatically assessed to their student account. This fee can be waived if proof of an alternative insurance provider is reported via BroncoWeb.
Pat Branson, SHIP Manager at the Health and Wellness Center, who monitors the waivers said, “It’s pretty obvious when a student sends us false insurance information, and if we are unable to establish verification, the waiver will be reversed and the student will be responsible for payment.”
Eligible waiver requirements include continued coverage through the academic year with an insurance company in full compliance with federal law that is based in the United States, a minimum of $65,000 per incident limitation, an individual deductible of no more than $1,000 and standard co-payments cannot exceed 40 percent of charges.
“AFLAC won’t cut it,” said Branson.
Supplemental insurances like AFLAC or Colonial are not designed to cover medical expenses. They send customers money to help compensate for expenses indirectly related to the medical treatment. For example, if someone was hospitalized for reconstructive knee surgery, a supplemental insurance company would give that person money to pay for things such as rent or any other debt accrued during hospitalization.
Jeff Anderson of Blue Cross Blue Shield said there are other insurance plans available that can cost students less. Anderson referenced a plan that he sells to students that has a higher deductible and a higher maximum benefit than the BSU insurance plan, which he said would be more fitting for the average healthy college student.
“If it were me, I would rather have a little higher deductible with the higher maximum benefits…$750 will not bankrupt a student, but if you had a $200,000 kidney transplant, (the BSU plan’s maximum benefit of) $100,000 is far insufficient,” Anderson said.
Anderson also said outside plans have the benefit of covering students all year, not just during the fall and spring semesters.
“Many students end up buying short term plans to cover those months,” Anderson said. “A relatively healthy student would save a few hundred off the school plan and stay insured for the summer months.”
Last year, 5,228 full-time students out of 13,562 were enrolled in the BSU SHIP.
The 2006 SHIP is provided by United Healthcare, but is subject to change every year.
“I am
to another.”
It may frustrate students switching from one company to another, but this arrangement allows BSU to shop around for the best coverage for the best price.
“We try to make as many people as happy as we can. We try to serve the students,” Branson said.
She said she believes educating students about their SHIP benefits and coverage is essential in maintaining their health and wellness. Branson spends the majority of her time informing parents and students at orientations all over campus.
Under the current health plan, students can expect to visit the Health and Wellness Center without any out-of-pocket expenses, unless treatment requires a prescription, any laboratory tests sent outside the center for interpretation and review, or surgery.
In that case, a $10 co-pay for generic drugs and a $250 deductible for outside work may apply. Maximum benefits under United Healthcare are $100,000. Dental and vision are not included.
The Health and Wellness Center is open to any student currently registered at BSU, and operates as any other basic family practice medical facility. For more information, visit their Web site at www.boisestate.edu/healthservices/insurance
Chad Mendenhall
News Writer
