University eyes health policy

The UNC system is moving closer and closer to a policy requiring all students to have health insurance.

UNC-Charlotte is joining a consortium of five system schools that already have implemented mandatory insurance.

The policy is known as a mandatory hard waiver, meaning a student with at least a six-hour credit load must either purchase the university-sponsored insurance policy or show proof of separate insurance.

Kemal Atkins, UNC-system director of academic and student affairs, said the consortium came about through conversations between system officials and student health directors of the various campuses. Another meeting will be held this fall to continue talks with the remaining schools.

Jim Mallinson, student health center director at UNC-Charlotte, said about 1,200 students have purchased the school’s policy. Another 3,000 could be enrolled by default. The premium is attached to their tuition bill.

Mallinson said requiring health insurance will alleviate problems students face when they fall ill.

“We had a young man who had a broken leg, which ended up costing about $5,000 at the hospital,” he said. “He ended up graduating with the creditors after him.”

He added that the student policy is cheaper than independent policies. UNC-C offers a plan underwritten by American International Group Inc. UNC-C’s plan costs each student $596, but without going through the school, a student could pay as much as $1,600 for less coverage, he said.

Linda Wilson, executive director of student health services at N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University, said the university has decided to implement a mandatory hard waiver policy but will wait until next year to do so. About 37 percent of N.C. A&T students are uninsured, she said.

UNC-Chapel Hill is one or two years away from implementing mandatory insurance, said Bob Wirag, director of Student Health Service for the UNC-CH.

UNC-CH already offers a university-sponsored policy underwritten by BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina, and about 7,000 students have taken advantage of it.

Wirag said UNC-CH and N.C. State University have other issues to address, such as a larger graduate student population, before they can impose mandatory insurance.

But he said the policy will be reconsidered this year.

“This is actually a concept that I’ve supported for a lot of years,” he said. “We spend a lot of time attracting the best students. And if they don’t have the health insurance to cover their medical bills — I’ve seen this every year — students have to drop out and get a job to pay their doctor bills.”

Students made more than 65,000 visits to Student Health last year, and about 85 percent of UNC-CH students have insurance coverage.

Wirag dismissed the argument that mandatory insurance will make education costs unmanageable. He added that because the premium would be included in the cost of attendance, needy students could apply for financial aid to make up the added expense.

“If a student does not have either adequate insurance or (any) insurance, and they get sick or hurt, their costs of attending higher education is going to be greater,” he said.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.