Gaps in WSU's health insurance coverage can lead to fees
23 01 08 - 11:11
Students are finding themselves confused as to why they're being charged $50 fees for a visit to the WSU clinic after already paying a quarterly $230 fee for health insurance.
Uninsured students also pay $50 a visit.
"One of the reasons is illness that isn't covered by the school's insurance policy, including acne, tooth pain, most dental-related problems, negative STD testing and routine physicals, which will cost students a $50 fee," said Rita Scheidweiler, Student Health Benefits coordinator of Student Health Services.
"This ($50 fee) happens for a variety of reasons. If the paper work hasn't been filled out correctly, or if students don't notify their outside insurance companies of their visit to our clinic, there are sometimes charges to the student.
However, we don't charge the student with anything without specifically telling them before a visit what it is that they're in for," said Scheidweiler.
"We also don't cover visits that are just based on suspected symptoms unless the tests come back positive," said Scheidweiler.
"This isn't to discourage any student from coming into the clinic if they think they have an illness and want to be seen by a doctor at all.
In fact, if a student is only seen one time for something that isn't covered for one reason or another by the school's health insurance policy, we'll write that off."
"Students know, 100 percent of the time, the options before they do anything," said Scheidweiler. "Any questions students may have as to whether or not they'll be covered for a visit by WSU's health insurance can be answered before they're seen in the clinic."
The insurance package is decided by a committe that includes students and is headed by Rich Johnson., Employee Benefits Manager, Human Resources.
"My opinion is this is not the best insurance in the world. In order to make it affordable for students, you can't get the world's best policy. However, for a healthy 18-24-year-old, it covers most things," said Wendy McGonigal, Student Health Services Director.
Scheidweiler encourages students to look further into what WSU's health insurance policy offers before visiting the on-campus clinic, stating that visits for issues such as acne or sebaceous cysts are considered cosmetic, which will cost students a $50 fee that will not be covered by the school's insurance policy.
The list of conditions that are automatically covered by the school's health insurance include asthma, allergies, acid reflux, sore throat, sinus pain, urinary tract infections, headaches, bleeding of any kind, diabetes and depression.
For those students who visit the clinic on a more regular basis, there is a $100 deductible that is applied to a student's sixth visit for the same illness.
Most of these charges are covered by Bolinger, the network that provides WSU's health insurance, said Scheidweiler.
Roughly 2,000 students enroll in WSU's health insurance program quarterly, said Scheidweiler.
Scheidweiler also noted an effort to make students increasingly aware that they have the capability of opting-out of the school's health insurance policy.
For more information, visit http://www.wright.edu/students/health
In Comparison
Fairborn's Doctor's Urgent Care offers an alternative option for insured and uninsured patients.
Insured students would be charged based on their own insurance policies and whether or not their insurance requires co-pay, said Mike Wentz, office manager.
New uninsured students would pay about $100 and receive 15 percent off subsequent visits.
Bills vary depending on examination, history and diagnosis decision making, said Wentz.
Doctor's Urgent Care accepts most major providers but doesn't accept WSU's insurance policy.
Urgent Care is open 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and is located at 2131 Gateway Drive in Fairborn. Call (937) 873-9500.