Students, don’t accept your financial aid offers just yet. Your universities may have forgotten to mention a big expense. Most colleges require their students to have coverage under a strict health insurance plan. Among other criteria, plans must be US-based, meet the American Care Act (ACA) standard, and offer full coverage to students in the state where they attend school. Those without qualifying insurance cannot waive the requirement and find themselves automatically enrolled in their institution’s student health plan. Premiums for these plans range from $2,000 to $4,000 annually with additional charges for add-ons like dental and vision coverage. Along with carrying insurance, all students must also pay a $500 to $1,000 student health fee to use on-campus health centers. More affordable options like Medicaid or ACA exchange plans operate on a state-by-state basis, which makes them an inadequate alternative for students who split their time between their hometown and campus. Additionally, dependents' eligibility for government-assisted health insurance is based on family income, forcing some college-aged students into the insurance gap. Families might make too much to qualify for assistance yet too little to afford their student premiums. Consequently, nearly three million students enroll in their school’s student health plan every year. Despite the high costs, schools differ in their policies regarding financial aid for health plans, leaving thousands of low-income students responsible for a significant additional expense. For students like myself who depend on grants and scholarships to cover the cost of attendance, health insurance charges can even surpass out-of-pocket costs for tuition, housing, and books combined.

Many schools, Cornell University included, only offer loan assistance to students who cannot afford their premiums. At a time when educational debt is higher than ever before, loan assistance is not enough. Although ensuring that all students have equal access to healthcare is a noble cause, the resulting student health plans and fees can pose a severe financial burden. Families considering student health plans must also account for cost-sharing and unexpected emergencies as additional, unsubsidized charges. That’s a lot of health spending for college students, who traditionally have the lowest health care utilization of any age group. A student who sees the doctor for an annual check-up or an occasional visit would be better off paying out-of-pocket. The rationale behind the insurance mandate is to prevent tragedies such as accidents or major diagnoses from derailing a student’s academic success. There is no doubt that students deserve protection from exorbitant healthcare charges —a single ride in an ambulance can cost over $1,000 out-of-pocket. However, it is unfair for students and their families to finance a new health insurance plan on their own as a prerequisite for enrollment. 

If colleges want to create a more equitable environment that prioritizes student health, they need to address the cost of insurance upfront and commit to subsidizing it. On Cornell University’s financial aid website, there is a small note below the cost of attendance breakdown that mentions the student health plan. The link leads to a page listing the criteria for waiving the insurance mandate, but it takes several clicks to locate the yearly student health insurance rate. Cornell is not the only culprit of this obfuscation. Several universities fail to report the cost of health insurance on their financial aid pages and estimators. Obscuring key financial information harms all prospective students, but it especially impacts first-generation low-income students who may be unaware of the insurance mandate. Nearly 50% of students consider the out-of-pocket cost of attendance an important factor when choosing what school to attend. Students and their families deserve easy access to all available information before making a life-changing decision.

Transparency aside, failing to provide aid for health insurance is an equity issue. Students who don’t qualify for federally-subsidized insurance and cannot afford their student health plan have no choice but to take out additional loans or risk the consequences of an unpaid balance. Universities are creating a barrier to higher education by refusing to include the cost of healthcare in their financial aid calculations. As a student who has been surprised by her bursar balance one too many times, I urge you to ask questions, advocate for better aid and transparency, and be aware of those sneaky health costs.

Works Cited

"Health Care Costs," Image courtesy of Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

https://flic.kr/p/bmm8h6