Alaska's student health insurance rates on the rise

By Skye Stauffer



November 15, 2005



Student health insurance at UAA is provided by Mega Life company, which works with UAA to provide health care for students.



Every five years, insurance companies give bids to UAA and UAF to have their presence on campus.



Health insurance rates at UAF have gown down due to the mandatory health insurance enrollment. Typically the more people registered for health insurance the lower the rates.



However, those at UAA are not required to have health insurance, students can still receive healthcare at the Student Health and Counseling Center.



Kristi Isaeff, manager of the student health center, said students need to understand what they?re buying before they purchase health insurance.



Students often overlook the fine print in insurance policies, Isaeff said. For instance, Mega Life Student Insurance charges a $100 deductible per insured person for every visit to health center outside of their network for up to $500 each year.



Another aspect of insurance is a clause regarding pre-existing conditions diagnosed within 12 months prior to the health insurance taking effect must pay for one year of the insurance without receiving any coverage or benefits.



The student health insurance offered at UAA costs individuals $896 each year. After the deductible is paid student health insurance will cover 80 percent of the customary charges relating to injury or sickness.



Senior James Oxford has a genetic birth defect that causes bone and neurological problems. He is uninsured and is looking forward to the possibility of being employed at the university as a staff member this spring so he can have health insurance.



Right now Oxford manages his medical bills with a medical credit account, which is a medical credit card run by the company Care Credit, but not all doctors will take it. Oxford estimates his medical expenses for 2006 at around $3,000.



?We need some kind of national health care system that covers people under 24 so that they have a chance to graduate and get out in the work force instead of worrying about paying expenses for medical care,? Oxford said.



There are several types of health insurance plans sold as group and individual health insurance, but health insurance benefits vary from policy to policy.



UAA Grad student Laura Cronick, school nurse at the King Career Center, thinks health insurance rates are out of control, but said Denali KidCare is a good health program for students who are young mothers.



?Health Insurance can render people bankrupt,? Cronick said. ?It?s a vicious cycle.?