Students must choose health plan
by Noelle Leavitt
The Metropolitan
Metro students who aren’t covered on a group health insurance plan through their employers or parents are required to purchase insurance through the Auraria Health Center, Metro health officials said.
Metro requires students who are taking 10 or more credit hours to purchase the $598 per semester insurance plan as a precaution for costly medical bills, said Jeff Uszacki, assistant director at the Auraria Health Center.
Individual insurance plans outside the college are more expensive than Metro’s health plan, said Sandie Dumancas, Metro’s insurance supervisor.
A comparable plan would cost $1,200 a semester for a male non-smoker and $1,600 a semester for a female non-smoker, according to CoverColorado, a non-profit organization sponsored by the Colorado legislature that provides coverage for residents who have pre-existing medical conditions.
Some students also may not be approved for individual plans separate from Metro if they have a pre-existing condition, Dumancas said.
“I had to call virtually every insurance company in Denver, and when I gave them my pre-existing condition they said no right off the bat,” said Sean Currey, 28, a Metro sophomore, who has epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes seizures and Currey said he hasn’t had a seizure for 10 years, but insurance companies didn’t care—they wouldn’t cover him.
He started looking for individual coverage after he left his job that offered a group plan. Group plans cover people regardless of their medical history.
Now as a Metro student he has health coverage through the college plan.
“I think it’s wonderful given my personal medical problems,” Currey said. “They covered a lot more than any of the other insurance companies.”
A student can’t be covered on their parents’ health insurance policy after turning 24, Dumancas said.
Metro health insurance is included in tuition, unless students can prove they are covered by a different plan. Students have to fill out a form and submit a copy of their current health plan to the college if they want to waive the Metro insurance.
“To waive off of the student insurance plan they have to have comparable coverage,” said Laura Evans, president of ECI, an insurance consulting company to Metro.
For a 25-year-old male student who doesn’t smoke it would cost $310 a month to be covered by CoverColorado. For a female that doesn’t smoke it would cost $474 a month.
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