By Benjamin Parke
Daily Bruin Contributor
Beginning fall 2001, all students at the University of
California will be required to have health insurance as a condition
of their enrollment.
The UC Board of Regents adopted the new policy at their Sept.
13-14 meeting in San Francisco after it was recommended by the UC
Advisory Committee on Student Health, due to concerns over growing
numbers of undergraduates lacking sufficient coverage.
An estimated 40 percent of students lack adequate health care,
according to UC campus surveys.
Another concern was that students are increasingly living out of
their plan’s area of coverage since they leave home to come
to college.
Students who do not already have health insurance will still be
able to purchase it through UC.
“The new undergraduate health insurance is intended to
respond to the crisis in student health care and meet the needs of
high numbers of students who are dropping out for medical
reasons,” said UC President Richard Atkinson in a
statement.
Premiums for the plans would be separate from the portions of
the registration fees all students pay toward campus health centers
that provide basic services, testing and referrals.
Since 1963, all international students have been required to
have health insurance, and a similar mandate has existed for
graduate students for the last 10 years. But only UC Berkeley and
UC Santa Cruz require undergraduates to have insurance ““
policies that were initiated by student referenda.
Costs of the UCB and UCSC plans averaged $415 per student over
the past year, but premiums from campus to campus will vary due to
local health care market conditions and other factors.
A model plan for the rest of the campuses was expected to cost
between $400 and $500 per year, with schools getting better rates
as a result of more students participating.
UCLA’s health plan, which is separate from the
registration fees that partially fund the campus health center,
costs about $700 a year.
Currently, two-thirds of UCLA undergraduates are covered under
their parents’ plans, according to Albert Setton, deputy
assistant vice chancellor for student development and health.
He said the inclusion of dental and eye care in UCLA’s
plan over the past year was responsible for about a $100 increase
in its cost.
“I don’t think (the mandated health plan) will be
anywhere near as low as $400 to $500,” said Setton, adding
that costs are relatively high in Los Angeles.
Health insurance vendors will be contacted in the winter, and
the final cost of next year’s plan will be known in the
spring, Setton said.
The scope of the benefits will not be reduced from what is
already provided in the current plan, he added.
Included in financial aid packages is an allowance for health
care that will cover the entire premium, according to Steve Lustig,
executive director of university health services at UCB, who
presented the new policy to the regents.
But Setton said despite the recent increases in financial aid,
he could not specifically say whether all of the plan’s costs
would indeed be covered.
The issue of additional costs imposed upon students was one
brought up by some of the regents in a brief discussion prior to
last month’s approval of the policy.
Regent Judith Hopkinson said the mandatory health insurance
requirement would mean that some students wouldn’t come to
the University of California.
“We’re not helping them ““ we’re
requiring them to have insurance,” Hopkinson said.
“It’s an extremely good rate, but to a student
it’s a lot of money.”
Student Regent Justin Fong echoed Hopkinson’s concerns,
saying he was wary of mandating an additional cost of $400 without
knowing what kind of coverage students would get for it.
The University of California Students Association supported the
requirement, saying it would improve access to health insurance,
although they also had concerns over costs and implementation,
according to Stacy Lee, UCSA organizing director.
Students who already have adequate health insurance of their own
will be able to exempt themselves from having to get the coverage
offered by UC through UCLA’s Web site. This process is
already in place for international and graduate students.
Full health care coverage used to be provided at UCLA through
“incidental fees,” which later became what are now
called registration fees.
There was even a special ward for UCLA students in the medical
center, Setton said.
“It was really primarily a health fee at the time,”
he said. “At one point, as late as the ’60s, student
health care came out of the registration fee, which paid for
everything.”