Spring Break
Health insurance bill passes
Columbian Life proposal obtains renewal bid with UW-Eau Claire students for next year
Nicole Strittmater
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: News
Columbian Life will once again provide health insurance to UW-Eau Claire students next school year, as Student Senate passed a bill 23-4-0 Monday night in support of a renewal bid.
Having health insurance helps protect students against unnecessary financial risks due to unpredicted occurrences, according to the bill. The current contract is about to expire.
"It has a lot of benefits for students and one of the things we want to work on doing is getting more students to buy into the plan," Vice President Meghan Charlier said. "Because students who don't have health insurance are really risking a lot."
Senate provides health insurance for students through an Agent of Record: Southard Insurance Agency.
This agency bids out for policies, and companies like Columbian Life submit proposals.
Senate set up the current policy two years ago for a maximum 10 percent increase for three years and next year is the last of it.
Senate approved the renewal bid by Columbian Life for a 10 percent increase from $765 to $842 for students 30 years old and under and $996 to $1,096 for students 31 years old and older, according to the bill.
In addition, Senate will also organize a group of students to work with the associate dean of Student Development and Diversity Jodi Thesing-Ritter to research possible alternatives to the current coverage. Some options include providing more information to students in the fall, online payment options and incorporating an opt-in page during online registration in the fall.
Southard Insurance Agency owner Don Southard said in a study done by the federal government, about 20 percent of the student body throughout the junior college and 4-year college systems are uninsured.
"Wisconsin probably would not (have) quite as many as some of the other states," he said, adding the more people that enroll in the program, the lower the premiums will get.
Sen. Caroline Wee said she has concerns about the current policy.
She said she used to be on the university's plan.
"If you want our business at all, you're going to have to stop raising this (price)," she said. "My personal experience has been I can get better elsewhere. I know that it's cheaper than long-term private insurance. I'm not putting it down. I'm just saying I have my concerns with it."
Having health insurance helps protect students against unnecessary financial risks due to unpredicted occurrences, according to the bill. The current contract is about to expire.
"It has a lot of benefits for students and one of the things we want to work on doing is getting more students to buy into the plan," Vice President Meghan Charlier said. "Because students who don't have health insurance are really risking a lot."
Senate provides health insurance for students through an Agent of Record: Southard Insurance Agency.
This agency bids out for policies, and companies like Columbian Life submit proposals.
Senate set up the current policy two years ago for a maximum 10 percent increase for three years and next year is the last of it.
Senate approved the renewal bid by Columbian Life for a 10 percent increase from $765 to $842 for students 30 years old and under and $996 to $1,096 for students 31 years old and older, according to the bill.
In addition, Senate will also organize a group of students to work with the associate dean of Student Development and Diversity Jodi Thesing-Ritter to research possible alternatives to the current coverage. Some options include providing more information to students in the fall, online payment options and incorporating an opt-in page during online registration in the fall.
Southard Insurance Agency owner Don Southard said in a study done by the federal government, about 20 percent of the student body throughout the junior college and 4-year college systems are uninsured.
"Wisconsin probably would not (have) quite as many as some of the other states," he said, adding the more people that enroll in the program, the lower the premiums will get.
Sen. Caroline Wee said she has concerns about the current policy.
She said she used to be on the university's plan.
"If you want our business at all, you're going to have to stop raising this (price)," she said. "My personal experience has been I can get better elsewhere. I know that it's cheaper than long-term private insurance. I'm not putting it down. I'm just saying I have my concerns with it."
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