In the presence of some of the largest budget cuts to the University in the past decade, the faculty involved with Student Health Services (SHS) shared in a press release that not much has changed.
There is still a mandatory fee students pay that entitles them to free appointments with the resident physician. In this visit they can do what one can expect with a university doctor, such as asking for medical advice or getting athletics-related paperwork filed.
Some things will change, however.  SHS will no longer bill health insurance providers directly. Instead they will charge whatever fees a student was incurred directly to the student’s banner account. A student going into SHS this fall for a flu shot, for example, is responsible for making sure the balance is paid off at the end of the semester. Students are responsible for contacting their insurance provider to determine what their co-pay, the amount an insured person must pay out of pocket before their health insurer pays for a visit or service, might be.
Another way SHS has changed the way they operate is what insurance companies they support. This change resulted almost directly from the Affordable Care Act that was passed in March of 2010. The act increased what insurance companies are legally required to provide the insured, and this made the old policy the University provided obsolete. Rather than wait for the policy to adapt to all the changes to health care law, the University adopted one that was 100% in compliance already.
Diane Garvey, director of SHS, said the University picked the best available option, priced at $576 for the fall and spring semesters, and $351 for the summer session. That is more expensive than the old policy, but Garvey defended this increase in price.
“The one we (the University) had before was a lot less, but the limits were a lot less,” Garvey said. “This is the best we could do with the changes we were given.”
Limits represent the amount up to which an insurance company can pay. Some health insurance policies only pay for health care up to a certain dollar amount. The insured person may be expected to pay any charges in excess of the health plan’s maximum payment for a specific service. In addition, some insurance company schemes have annual or lifetime coverage maximums. In these cases, the health plan will stop payment when the maximum benefit is reached and the policy-holder must pay all remaining costs.
Garvey said that it is each student’s personal decision to adopt a healthcare provider according to the Individual Mandate. She did not feel she was in a position to give that kind of advice but she does stand by her department’s decisions.
“We try our darndest to have the most comprehensive care for the lowest cost possible,” Garvey said.
It is the student’s responsibility to be concerned about their personal healthcare. In the case of those students or faculty who will be required under the Affordable Care Act to purchase insurance, more information about the schools insurance policy can be found at www.sas-mn.com/students.html.
 Students and faculty are still welcome from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Wednesday, and 8:00 am until 1:00 pm on Thursday and Friday.