By Erika Klimchak
The price tag attached to a trip to the emergency room or a visit to the allergist can be staggering for people with no health care insurance, especially college students who aren’t covered by an employer’s, parent’s or spouse’s plan.
But the Student Health Fee Committee hopes that more students will soon have access to affordable health care on-campus. The SHF Committee, comprised of several U of L vice presidents and doctors, has been working since July 13 to create a proposal for a better, clearer and more comprehensive health care plan for students, which would include a new health care building that would offer more services.
“Under the proposal, a new health care building would be built on the Belknap Campus which would house a lab, x-ray facility and space for primary care and health education,” said Dr. Phillip Bressoud, assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville and SHF Committee member. “The proposal includes offering a counseling service within or close to the new building.”
The SHF Committee also hopes to solve problems with U of L’s current student health care, which include confusion over services, locations and cost.
Bill Brammell is the Student Government Association president and also serves as student delegate on the SHF Committee. “This year, we’ve been having meetings every other week to come up with a plan that clearly states what services will be available and where those services will be performed,” Brammell said. “We want to produce a plan with maximum health benefits for students at the cheapest price.”
Plans for how to finance the new building, expand health care services and lower the cost of health care to students are not being divulged by SHF Committee members at this time. However, one option being considered is charging a health care fee as part of the tuition package, a strategy other universities have implemented. Temple University charges its students $60 per semester, the University of South Florida charges $102.60 per semester, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill charges $169 per semester for health care.
“I’ve been an advocate for including the health care fee in our tuition because it shows that a) it’s a priority of the administration and b) annual tuition increases will probably be lower if this fee is included,” Brammell said.
The proposed plan is still being considered and Bressoud doesn’t predict the new policy would take effect “until at least next July.” University President James Ramsey and the Leadership Committee will review the plan, and ultimately determine the plan’s passage or defeat.
U of L senior Brianne Fekete, who has health care coverage under her mother’s insurance plan, said, “I think if you want to use it, it’ll be great for you. But I don’t think it’s fair to make people who aren’t going to use it pay the fee. Students should have a choice whether they want to pay the fee or not..
Students who have U of L health insurance pay through co-payments. However, students seeking on-campus health care who are not covered by health insurance policies pay a percentage of the service rendered which can be a considerable amount. A routine pap smear for a woman with no insurance can cost as much as $150. With insurance, the cost would be considerably less.
All students in the schools of Dentistry and Medicine and the Upper Division of the Nursing School, including Graduate Nursing Programs, are required to have major medical insurance coverage. They must use either the school’s sponsored plan, for which they are charged $80 per month, or through their employer’s, parent’s or spouse’s policy.
“I want all the students on this campus to have access to reasonably priced health care,” Brammell said. “I think everybody wants the same thing, it’s just a matter of agreeing on the way to get there.”
