In a proposal being circulated this week, University Health Center Director Dr. Sacred Bodison is proposing that all undergraduate students be required to have health insurance, with costs being folded into student fees.
The proposal, which student leaders said they were reviewing skeptically, will be heard during a Senate Executive Committee meeting tomorrow. Bodison said the plan could tack on an estimated $600 to $1,200 in fees, an increase she believes would be covered by financial aid.
Although the dramatic increase in fees would send the costs of attending this university far beyond any state university with similar academic programs, Bodison said she believed an insurance requirement could help solve the problem of a high number of uninsured students. She stressed that submitting the proposal to the senate would help involve students in the decision.
“The reason why I’m doing this is so that students have a voice in the decision-making,” she said.
If the insurance mandate is adopted, all students unable to provide proof of insurance would incur the fee on their bill. It is not yet clear whether graduate students would also be included.
“An important consideration is whether the students want such a thing,” said Mary Giles, the senate executive secretary and director. “The senate doesn’t decide this. They find out what the student body wants.”
Bodison met several weeks ago with several student senators, including senior government and politics and Jewish studies double major Avi Mayer.
“I think it’s fairly clear that at first glance this does not seem to be an overly advantageous thing for students,” Mayer said. “But after sitting down with Dr. Bodison, there do seem to be some very convincing points as well.”
Mayer, the chair of the Senate Student Affairs Committee, said one major benefit of the proposal seems to be the lower cost to students when they sign up as a large group, as compared to the current voluntary system. Under the proposal, students could be eligible for a bulk discount, Mayer said.
It will probably be up to Mayer’s committee or perhaps the Campus Affairs Committee to gauge the desire among students for required health care.
“This is something I’ve actually not heard rasied before as a problem among students, but it’s a problem that’s been raised by the University Health Center and the bottom line is that we will obviously have to consult with the broader student body,” he said. “While the Student Affairs Committee is largely composed of students, we will want to have a broader conversation and bring in other voices.”
The current voluntary student health care plan costs $1,582 annually. Nearly 7 percent of all students are uninsured, according to a 2005 National College Health Assessment survey. An additional 4.1 percent of students were unsure.
In an Aug. 25 letter to senate Chair James Gates, Bodison wrote that in recent years the cost of insurance plans has gone up while the number of students purchasing them has gone down. As a result, more and more universities are requiring health insurance, Bodison wrote.
A report included in materials submitted by Bodison said over 90 percent of private schools mandate health insurance for at least some part of their student body.
According to a preliminary report published last year by the Maryland Health Care Commission, 18 percent of the state’s uninsured population was between 19 and 24 years old. Although Bodison said university officials have told her the costs’ status as a student fee would make it eligible for financial aid, it is unclear what would happen to students who do not have health insurance or financial aid.
Under the current system, all students pay $10 for a health center office visit. Costs for services such as x-rays, laboratory tests or physical therapy are paid by insurance companies or students.
Staff writer Brendan Lowe contributed to this report. Contact reporter Sharahn Boykin at boykindbk@gmail.com.
