| So I've had some limited involvement university fee structures and their health clinics. I actually had a conversation with the director of one about these plans. He explained: * The university already has the clinic that is funded by student fees and a bit from the university general fund * Uninsured students are seen for free and just pay for supplies used ($10 for a lab test, $5 for an xray, etc) * They wave all copays for students with outside insurance * For students on the student insurance plan, they are expected to use the clinic for general/minor needs. In these cases, the university agrees to eat the cost and not bill the insurer. So all the insurance company is paying is major medical expenses for services not rendered by the school. Its just like large companies that have an on site clinic to save on their premiums. So technically, it does end up costing the school a bit more if students buy the insurance through them because the school pays for all the supplies that they would normally be reimbursed for. If more student use the clinic, the university will end up having to expend their budget. But in comparison to how much money the university already bleeds, the clinic is a pretty minor cost. I think the whole clinic costs less to run than they pay their athletic director. One interesting side note was regarding students that have outside insurance. Many times, they don't even bother billing the insurance if its just an office visit. Because medical billing is such a mess, they realized that it was actually costing them money to pay someone to deal with it when the insurance will only pay them ~$40 anyway. So they'll only bother if there are additional procedures and they expect a reimbursement >$100. |