Student government leaders are forming a committee to discuss ways to implement the mandate that all U students have health insurance.
Last year, the Senate and General Assembly of the Associated Students of the University of Utah passed a resolution that all students must present proof of health insurance to register for classes.
Student Body Vice President Toby Collett is organizing a health-insurance committee composed of ASUU Senate and Assembly members, the Student Health Advisory Committee and students in general.
“We really want to try to get a group that represents all of campus to discuss health insurance and where to go from here,” Collett said.
Official decisions on whom the committee will include will be made in December, and meetings will begin in January.
Jake Kirkham, student body president, said he hopes all U students can be insured. He advocates the plan for a hard waiver requiring health insurance in order to pay tuition. In a soft-waiver policy, students are encouraged to have health insurance, but it is not required.
“This committee will be analyzing how to implement the mandate,” Kirkham said. “It’s kind of tricky because we don’t want to lose any students because they can’t afford health insurance and tuition.”
Kirkham said the insurance that the U offers through GM Southwest is often too expensive for students. He hopes the committee can create a plan to bring down health-insurance premiums to make the U’s plan more affordable and feasible for students.
The U’s health insurance costs about $80 a month, depending on which plan is purchased. Cost increases with a spouse, children or any kind of dependents.
Jason Gillman, a member of SHAC, said, “We did a price comparison on the U’s policy and outside policies, and the U’s is actually a bit cheaper.”
Although the number of students with health insurance has increased since the U started talking about a health-insurance requirement, 25 percent of U students still do not carry any health-insurance policy.
“That’s kind of scary,” Gillman said. “I believe that students should have health insurance, period. If you take the risk of not having it, you’re jeopardizing your life.”