By Dennis O’Neil
Student visits to the Health Services Office at the University of Louisville have at least doubled since the implementation of last year’s controversial health care fee, according to Dr. Phillip Bressoud, Director of Student Health Services.
The fee was approved by the Board of Trustees in May of 2006, and it currently places a $100 fee onto all uninsured students. Those students may declare their health care provider to the university via ULink, but they still incur a $35 fee for university health care services.
But regardless of the increase in student use of university health services, the U of L Student Government Association passed a resolution last month to re-initiate talks with the Board of Trustees regarding the fee.
SGA said it hopes to have the health fee made optional for uninsured students by fall 2007.
“We want the services to be there for the students who don’t have a whole lot of options for health care,” John Drees, office liaison to the university president and provost.
According to Drees, the current health fee plan emerged from many months of deliberation and effort to find a plan that was affordable for the student body.
Thus far, he said collecting the $35 fee from students has not been problematic, but the $100 fee for uninsured students has been more complex.
SGA President Darrell Messer said that the resolution came in response to discontent among students regarding the current system. The resolution stated that the health fee has placed an unnecessary burden on manystudents.
“I think that if a student already has health insurance, and they are already paying so much a year for it, then they shouldn’t have to pay the extra $35,” said Sara Garr, a senior physical education major.
Drees said the system has been mildly modified so that even if a student does not have health insurance, the $100 fee can still be waived, if the student can demonstrate that they have access to a primary care provider.
Approximately 7,100 students have waived the fee, but there are also roughly 5,000 students who did not, according to Bressoud.
Bressoud said that the fee enabled the health center to solve much of the personnel shortage that was hindering the program in September 2006.
Since then, the center has added a nurse practitioner, two additional psychiatrists, and three medical assistants to their staff, and is in the process of looking for a new physician.
There has been a steady amount of students utilizing the university health services, Bressoud said. “We have also seen a fairly brisk demand for our psychiatrists at the Belknap Health Center.”
Yet, “[the health fee] is the one issue that I have received the most personal contact about from students,” said Messer. “A lot of students have come to talk to me about their problems regarding this issue. A lot of people are concerned about it.”
“I know about the service, but I don’t think a lot of people know what [the health fee] is or how they benefit from it,” said senior psychology major Jessica Lanham.
“I think it is probably true that students didn’t always understand the [health fee’s] process,” said U of L Executive Vice President and University Provost Shirley Willihnganz. “They didn’t always understand what they needed to do or when they needed to do it.”
Both Willihnganz and Messer cited communication problems between the university and its students throughout the fee’s implementation.
“We have not been able to construct a new financial plan, in part because I have not received a copy of the health services program budget despite my numerous requests,” said Messer.
Much of the reason behind the fee came from students who thought it was important to have primary health care available on campus, said Willihnganz.
“[We] were trying to have the services we thought [are] most important for our students and to keep the cost as low as we could,” she said.
On the other hand, problems regarding the health fee are currently being investigated by the university, she said
Willihnganz said that before SGA passed its resolution, the Provost office had already convened a group to examine the health fee and to see if changes are needed. Their findings are to be released in at least a month.
Messer said, “I think specifics will probably come after a policy-level decision has been made.”
According to Bressoud, one of the only problems left is providing students a more modern health facility which is still in its initial planning stages.
“Our current facility is poorly designed and outdated to meet the needs or our students,” he said. “The mechanical systems are very old and just heating or cooling the space is difficult.”
And despite displeasure from SGA and the student body, the Provost’s office remains resolute about the fee’s effectiveness. SGA said it will continue to push the university to change the current fee system.
To express your thoughts on the health fee, e-mail the Provost at provost@louisville.edu or call SGA at 852-6695.
For more information regarding student health services and fee, call 852-6479 or visit the Health Services Office, located at 2207 South Brook Street on the Belknap Campus. The center is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
