Health insurance too expensive for student budgets

A trip to the hospital and $300 later, senior Susana Llamas remains without health insurance. All and all, being covered is just too expensive for any student.

“If I stop and think about it, it’s scary to think that if something were to happen, I’m screwed,” Llamas said. “But it’s not something that I’m constantly thinking about.”

If she ever becomes sick during the school year, Llamas heads over to the Student Health Center because it is free for students, she said. Llamas realizes that, once she graduates, she will not have a place like the health center and will have to rely solely on her job’s medical benefits.

“I’m currently job searching, but hopefully the job I find offers me some type of insurance, or else I’m just going to continue to be uninsured,” Llamas said.

This mindset does not bode well for those on campus who hope that all students will be covered during college.

The Student Health Advisory Council recently surveyed approximately 2,000 students to learn more about health coverage on campus, said SHAC Chair Jerry Pin. The results showed that about three out of 10 students on campus do not have any type of health insurance.

“If we don’t insure ourselves, we might run into these situations and the next thing you know, you have a $10,000 bill, and how do you pay for it?” Pin said. “However you’re going to do it, you have to pay it. Why would you take that risk when you could pay a little amount and just insure yourself for whatever life brings you?”

Another statistic that surprised officials at the SHAC was that about 80 percent of students rely on the health center as their primary source of health care, Pin said. After learning these results, Pin wants to raise more awareness for the health insurance that is available through the Student Health Center.

Chico State offers a supplemental health plan for students who are taking a minimum of six units, Pin said. He thinks the plan is affordable for students, and those who aren’t insured should look into the policy.

The majority of students surveyed who are currently not covered are those who have been dropped from their parents’ health coverage due to their age, Pin said.

But for graduates heading into the job market, there is still hope for health insurance.

The majority of career positions that are posted through the Career Center provide health insurance, said Megan Odom, associate director of the Career Center. Each company offers a different range of benefits, so it is important to understand exactly what will be covered.

However, if a position doesn’t offer health benefits, students have the option to advocate for them, Odom said. If a person does his or her research beforehand and can provide an employer with information, the employee has a better chance of coming out on top.

“Before accepting the position, students should prioritize what is most important to them,” Odom said. “When they go in to talk to the potential employer, they know that they can present to them ‘this is what I need, and this is what I’m hoping to get.’”

Therese Marucci can be reached at 
tmarucci@theorion.com