NSU’s student health insurance plan has been switched from being covered by Florida Blue Cross Blue Shield to National World Wide Aetna Student Health for the 2014-2015 academic year.
As of Aug. 1, students who were previously insured with Blue Cross through NSU student health insurance were automatically switched to the new insurance coverage plan. NSU considered waiting until December to make the switch so they would have more time to inform students and finish all of the paperwork, but because of the health care reform, Aetna couldn’t promise NSU the same policy at the same price if the school waited until a later date.
Chief Executive Officer of NSU Health Care Centers Robert Oller said, “We initiated 12 or 15 years ago that any services provided here by the university through our health care services, was covered 100 percent. That’s because we think we do a better job at taking care of our students.”
Aetna’s insurance coverage will reduce insurance premiums and will include the same benefits as Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as some others. Students will not be required to pay deductibles or copayments and those who were already enrolled in the Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plan prior to Aug. 1 will receive a $65 refund from the Bursar’s office.
One of the additional benefits includes full coverage for needle stick injuries. Because students who are studying in a health professions program are at risk for getting stuck by a needle, they are required to get tests to make sure they have not been infected with a virus if such an incident occurs.
Oller said that tests cost about $1,000 for three days of testing and medications and, “It’s very upsetting when we see that happen to a student.”
All NSU Health Professions Division students, Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences day students, undergraduate and graduate students who live on campus and international students are required to have health insurance. These students will automatically be enrolled in the NSU Student Medical Insurance Plan and will have their student accounts charged.
Non-residential undergraduate, graduate, part-time and evening students who are taking at least three credit hours, and students enrolled in a Ph.D. program, are also eligible to purchase the insurance plan on a voluntary basis.
Students may choose to have their eligible dependents covered by the insurance plan. The dependents must be a spouse or domestic partner residing with the covered student or a child under 26 years of age. The dependents’ coverage period will coincide with the student’s.
Oller said that NSU’s insurance plan is cheaper than an outside program.
“[Students] can go to the Obamacare exchange, but it might not be as robust a policy as what we have,” he said. “For instance … we try to make sure our students are covered for any events that may occur, that might not be [part of] the normal coverage program.”
Students who want to decline NSU insurance, must sign the waiver for the plan and prove that they have adequate insurance with another provider. If students fail to sign the waiver, their accounts will automatically be billed for the coverage.
“[Students] need to make sure they have adequate coverage for anything that may occur, because we can’t [look] into a crystal ball and see what will happen. Even though $1,800 [the undergraduate residential premium rate] sounds like a lot of money, it’s not a lot of money when you have health issues,” Oller said.
NSU is a self-insured university that is a part of the Independent Colleges and Universities Benefits Association, which allows members to reduce the costs of insurance, administrative fees, broker commissions and consulting fees by paying money into a shared pool of costs instead of paying money into a premium.
NSU was originally insured with Aetna for about eight years before they were approached by Florida Blue. At the time, Blue Cross Blue Shield was starting their student health insurance program.
“We were the very first university that Blue Cross Blue Shield contracted with to provide student insurance programs,” Oller said.
Oller said that Blue Cross learned a lot from their contract with NSU and that they maintained a good relationship throughout the course of the contract.
However, for unknown reasons, Blue Cross decided to no longer provide health insurance to students after the winter 2014 semester. Because NSU had a good relationship with Aetna in the past, Aetna offered the school the same benefits that Blue Cross provided, along with additional ones, and at a lower rate.
“What we have is a fully-insured program through Aetna insurance company because of the fact that Blue Cross Blue Shield chose to get out of that particular line of business,” Oller said. “Students are basically healthy people. The business of insurance is protecting you against a loss and the less chance you have of getting a disease, the more profitable it’ll be for the insurance company.”
For more information on the student health insurance plan or to waive from the program, visit novastudentinsurance.com. For questions, contact Mark Reid, student health insurance administrator, at studenthealth@nova.edu or at 954-262-4060.
