I wasn’t aware of this, but apparently more and more colleges are requiring that students have health insurance.
One of our local papers reported that Michigan State is the latest school to put this type of program in place, and say that it’s currently in place or rolling out at 25% of colleges across the country, a number that is growing.
The cost ($1,500 per year) is nothing to sneeze at, but when it comes to health insurance, is actually pretty cheap, though I’m guessing it’s a pretty bare bones plan, and that since most college kids stay reasonably healthy, is a pretty low cost plan to the provider as well.
Still, it raises a few questions:
- What if you forget to provide proof? Could you get billed for coverage you already have? If so, will some simply overlook this or have an administrative battle on their hands to back out of it?
- Is this any of the schools business? The article I posted the link to never really indicated the rationale behind this, except to say that colleges want to ensure that students don’t have to choose between education and paying for a health care bill. I can see this but it seems a little flimsy.
- Is this tied into Obamacare somehow? I thought this bill required that everybody have health insurance by a certain date. Is this a way to get in front of this for the student population?
Back in my college days, I was covered under my parents insurance plan, so this wouldn’t have applied to me. But, I expect more and more students are uninsured, and I wonder how this affects them.
If you were attending college, would this type of requirement make you more or less likely to attend that particular college? Do you see this as an infringement on a students right or as a way to take a potential bad decision out of the students hands?
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