Student insurance a is perceived as necessary evil. It appears that even though it has already been paid for, we still have to spend horrendous amounts of money on medical care.
I am an international student, and according to Northeastern Illinois University’s policy I was required to enroll in the insurance, regardless of having a Polish insurance policy which covers medical services in the United States as well.
What surprised me most was the fact that instead of paying about $350, as it had been during the summer term, we had to spend $452.25, which is 29 percent more. One could say that it is only a $100 difference, but on the other hand, not many products or services increase in price by such a percentage in such a short time.
This cost is just a drop in the ocean. Most medical services cost extra anyway. Every single doctor’s appointment, not to mention seeing a specialists, costs a tremendous sum of money.
Insurance companies are not into charity. They are set up to make profit, and that is mostly thanks to people who almost never fall ill. Yet the cost of insurance is the same for everybody because it is impossible to specialize each person’s rate according to their needs.
However, it is in our favor when a university helps students and selects a specific health plan. The Finance and Administration Office can negotiate more favorable conditions for larger groups.
The Student Health Insurance Plan, offered by Northeastern Illinois University in partnership with the Chickering Group, is intended to cover illnesses and injuries that occur on and off campus. Care provided by the insurance can either be preferred or non-preferred.
For example, instead of paying $100 per visit if uninsured, a student will be charged $15 when the provider is preferred, and will have a 50 percent discount if not.
For regular visitors to a doctor’s office, the amount of $452 is not tremendous. Saving $85 per visit amounts to $425 after the fifth appointment. For those who are lucky enough to avoid physicians, this sum is like throwing money down the drain. But you never know when you might need care.