News

Metro insurance policy seeks a healthy balance

Metro requires
students to have health insurance by policy, not law

By Birgit Moran
moranb@mscd.edu

Metro is not required by law to mandate health insurance, but school policy requires students to be insured.

Metro students enrolled in 10 credits or more a semester-eight during the summer-are automatically enrolled in Metro's health insurance for $680 per semester. Those already insured through another provider can waive Metro's policy and premium. Waivers must be completed by Sept. 16.

Health insurance has been mandated at Metro for 25 years through a school policy, which was established to ensure that students could afford to stay in school without incurring unforeseen medical expenses.

"We want to keep students in school," said Stephen Monaco, director of the Health Center at Auraria. "We don't want people to be under, over or double insured, but we do want them to be covered to meet their needs."

Metro's health insurance policy states:

"Students taking 10 credit hours or more in the Fall and/or Spring Semester, or 8 credit hours more in the Summer semes

ter, are automatically billed for the Student Health Insurance.

"However, students may waive out of the plan Prior to the waiver deadline listed in the class schedule by submitting:"

In 1994, Colorado lawmakers ruled against colleges and universities' ability to mandate health coverage. Metro was one of five schools requiring insurance at the time and was grandfathered-in to continue.

The other Colorado schools mandating health insurance are University of Northern Colorado, Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Colorado State University (for international students only).

Earlier this year, Rep. Bob McCluskey, R-Fort Collins, sponsored a measure to reverse Colorado's 1994 ruling. The bill was narrowly defeated.

But there's still some heat in the legislature to make health insurance mandatory at all state colleges and universities.

"I'd be surprised if it doesn't come up again very soon," said Stephen Beckley, an insurance consultant in Fort Collins.

Both McCluskey and Beckley said hospitals and schools want to address the issue because of unpaid medical bills.

"The person has to make that decision on their own. It's not something the government should be mandating," said Rep. Jim Welker, R-Loveland, on mandated health insurance, as quoted in a March 3 article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

McCluskey cited Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins as an example of how international students at CSU, who are accustomed to socialized medicine, can cause considerable medical write-offs for the hospital.

According to McCluskey, for Metro's mandated health insurance policy to change, the board of trustees would have to approve it.

Group health plans such as Metro's also come down to a matter of mass. The more people who are on the plan, the lower the cost per person.

Monaco said the more students who are insured through the college, rather than by outside providers, the cheaper insurance premiums will be for everyone on the plan.

"Allowing students to decide whether they want health insurance can dilute a school's health plan when few buy into it," said Jenny Foss, director of student health services at Old Dominion University, as quoted in a CollegeNews.com article on March 7.

According to Foss, more schools have started mandating coverage over the past four years.

"Effectively-managed student health insurance programs can be an outstanding value, providing appropriate coverage at a cost well below rates charged for comparable individual health insurance coverage," Beckley said.

Insured students are encouraged to use the Auraria Health Center because there's no deductible, it's convenient, and available medications have a $20 co-pay, Monaco said. He said that while on-site costs can be controlled, off-site PPO and other provider pricing couldn't be.

"It's to the student's advantage to use our facilities," Monaco said. "There's a lot right here."