Opinion > November 29, 2007

We agree that it’s time for the university to provide each of its students with health insurance. Surprisingly, the university has never conducted a formal study to determine how many of its students are without health insurance, so this should be the first step in the university’s new initiative.

To address this problem, the Student Health Care Initiative has proposed that the university add the cost of health insurance to the cost of tuition, making it eligible for financial aid. We are not convinced that this is the best solution.

The main concern is the increase in tuition that would result. Students and particularly parents already complain of the university’s high cost of attendance, already $34,230 for the 2007-’08 school year. We would like to know how much the cost of health insurance would add to current tuition fees. We expect the university to investigate this issue by examining other school’s student health insurance policies to determine the best fit for its students. Instead of increasing tuition, the university should identify those who do not have health insurance upon their admittance. The university should then offer health plans to those students and enforce this policy by placing a hold on the student’s account until they show proof of insurance.

We support the initiative to have every student covered by health insurance, and in implementing such a policy, we urge the university to proceed judiciously, with its students’ interests in mind.