By VANESSA STUMPF (excerpt) Health insurance is a serious national issue - an estimated 40 million Americans don't have it. Some college students are fortunate to be covered by their parents' private insurance providers. But others are not so lucky.

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Startled by an estimated 40 percent of their undergraduate students without adequate health care and a high number of medically related student dropouts, the UC system made health insurance a non-academic requirement for enrollment. By the fall term of 2001, all UC undergraduates had to be covered.


UC spokesperson Trey Davis called the mandatory student health insurance policy "one way to make sure that the population is healthy," referring to each UC campus as a population in itself.


At UC Davis, all students are automatically enrolled in the school's Student Health Insurance Plan. Those with alternative health insurance must waive university coverage every year.


Students who utilize SHIP pay $195 per quarter or $585 annually, a cost comparable to other schools' health insurance plans.


SHIP provides thorough coverage of almost whatever health predicament college students might find themselves in, including substance abuse care, emergency care and physical therapy. Among the services not covered are sterilization reversal, sex transformation, cosmetic surgery, orthodontic services such as braces, and optometric services such as eyeglasses or contact lenses.


"Most kids think they're invincible, and are not going to get sick," said Ronda Papas, insurance service supervisor at UCD. "To keep kids in school, we need to keep them healthy."


The process of mandating health insurance for UCD's undergraduates starts at the Admissions Office. A link on the online admissions packet explains health insurance policies, and from there the Cowell Student Health Center takes over.


Private colleges in the area - such as University of the Pacific in Stockton and St. Mary's College in Moraga - also require that students with nine or more units at UOP and full-time students at St. Mary's have health insurance.


Conversely, the California State University system, comparable to the UC system in that it is a sizable multi-campus educational institution, does not require health insurance for its students. Only international students and those traveling abroad must be covered in the CSU system.


Clara Potes-Fellow, a CSU spokesperson, says there is no plan for the CSU system to require health insurance. For complete article click here http://www.californiaaggie.com/article/?id=3141


Source: California Aggie