Don’t want mental-health coverage? Too bad, you’re paying for it
The price of the student healthcare plan at the University of Illinois is expected to rise “at least” 10 percent next fall because the school’s insurer isn’t making enough money selling Obamacare-compliant plans.
No worry, though, because students can still use their parents’ insurance. Right?
Not necessarily. The Daily Illini reports that even students who already have insurance are being forced to pay for the school’s offering, which currently runs $320 per semester for undergraduates (the vast majority presumably young and healthy):
The plan, provided by United Healthcare, covers all elements required by the Affordable Care Act as well as the most necessary medical expenses a student might encounter in the event of an illness or accident, [McKinley Health Director Robert] Palinkas said in an email.
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Sophomore Fabiola Padilla comes from a mixed blue-white collar family that might barely qualify as middle class, yet she’s among the 1,720 students whose applications to waive the school fee were denied this year because their current coverage isn’t fancy enough:
Padilla is unsure of how [the 10 percent increase forecast by Palinkas] will affect her family financially. She noted her dad cannot pay for an increase in student rates.
“I feel like (my dad) is going to have this breaking point where he won’t be able to pay for school anymore,” Padilla said. …
“I should have a choice of whether I want (the student health insurance) or not, especially because I have insurance,” Padilla said. “I shouldn’t be forced to pay for it.”
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These are the reasons the university can force students to pay for insurance on top of their own family plans:
“When a policy fails to cover adequate mental health care, or if the parental policy requires that the student pays the first five thousand dollars of cost, or if it fails to meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, or fails to have a decent local network of specialists, then the request to waive the fee for University insurance is denied,” Palinkas said.
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