Student body presidents from every college and university in Utah agreed on one thing Wednesday night: Student health insurance in Utah is a problem.
Ali Hasnain and John Poelman, president and vice president of the Associated Students of the University of Utah, presented a plan to find out what the students of Utah want.
“Everyone go back and engage your students so we can come back and create a plan,” Poelman said. “We are looking for student feedback and what students want.”
Jason Gillman of the Student Health Advisory Committee, said that if something isn’t done soon, the student health insurance policy at the U will no longer be available in a year.
Currently, the voluntary student health plan is failing. For every $1 put into the plan, $1.06 is paid in claims.
“The group of people (who are) using the plan are overusing it,” Gillman said.
He said the high number of pregnant women using the plan is the biggest factor in its failure.
This trend caused the premiums to rise 16 percent in 2005, and Gillman estimated they will increase more than 20 percent in 2006, while benefits will likely decrease.
“The problem is only going to get worse,” Gillman said. “Change must be made.”
Currently, people pay $1,100 a year for student plans that cover up to $50,000 and have a $250 deductible.
With an estimated 15 percent of U students choosing not to have health insurance, Gillman said the main struggle is that there is no incentive unless students know they will get sick.
According to SHAC, two U students have dropped out of school this fall after receiving treatment for serious medical problems that they paid for out of their own pocket because they did not have health insurance.
Gillman presented many options to fix the problem, but he focused the group on the hard-waiver plan, which would require proof of insurance to attend a university.
This is how state universities in California, Idaho and Massachusetts operate.
Brigham Young University and LDS Business College are the only institutions in Utah that currently apply the hard-waiver plan.
According to SHAC, the hard-waiver plan would increase the number of people using the student health insurance plan and secure the program’s future while lowering premiums and increasing benefits.
“I think this is where the U should look,” Gillman said.
In an attempt to improve the situation at the U by seeking out more options in providers, SHAC sent 18 proposals to student health-insurance companies. Three bids were returned and two would not consider insuring the U without mandatory health insurance.
“We need to come up with an answer from the students,” Poelman said to a group of General Assembly representatives Tuesday night. He assigned them to find out how the students in their individual colleges feel about student health insurance.
Hasnain will present what he’s learned to the other school presidents at the end of November.
The group of presidents will then decide on a plan to present to the Board of Regents and Utah Legislature in January.
