When a stuffy nose, athletic injuries, or worse ailments wreak medical havoc on students' lives, insured health care is no longer only an off-campus option.
ASU's Campus Health Service is now in network with several major insurance companies and will also bill other plans.
"Now that we are taking insurance we're hoping to open up the availability to more students," said Dr. Stefanie Schroeder, interim director and chief of staff for the Campus Health Service.
Campus Health networked with Blue Cross/Blue Shield in March, and United HealthCare starting in June. Aetna and HealthNet will be added to that list starting Sept. 15.
Previously, students had to pay the full cost for clinical visits, labs, x-rays, and other procedures unless they were insured by the Arizona Board of Regents student health insurance program.
Because the Campus Health Service was not billing insurance companies, students with insurance were individually responsible for filing their own claims.
Under those conditions, only about 36 percent of students with insurance were using the
Campus Health Center, said Janet Mullen, Campus Health chief of operations officer.
"We think that number will go higher now," she said, adding the center estimates an increase of up to 20 percent in the number of insured students who visit ASU physicians.
With the estimated increase in revenue from office visit fees, the center is expanding mental health services and transitioning to a state-of-the-art electronic records system, Schroeder said.
Campus Health officials do not yet have an exact estimate of the expected increase in revenue, Mullen said.
The center added a psychiatrist and a full-time counselor to its staff this summer, and is operating a new electronic patient-management system that improves efficiency, Schroeder said.
By December, all staff should be using the electronic records system rather than paper medical charts, she added.
Greater efficiency will mean physicians can cut down on the length of appointments and see more patients, Schroeder said.
About 68 to 70 percent of insured students are covered by the four companies that the center networks with, Mullen said.
To further increase coverage, Campus Health is also negotiating with Cigna and TRICARE, and an agreement with Private Healthcare Systems, which includes several small plans from throughout the country, should be finalized by late September, Campus Health officials said.
Parents and students visited the center during Welcome Week to put their insurance information on file.
Frank and Judy Pella, parents of political science freshman Melissa Pella, said it gives them peace of mind to know their daughter can use on-campus services, under the coverage of their family's insurance plan.
"If I need health services, I won't have to go around looking for something," Melissa Pella said.
Insured students can visit the center to scan their insurance cards ahead of time, so that in the event of illness or a clinical visit, their insurance information is already on file.
For students without health insurance, the Campus Health Service will continue to offer a discounted Bridge plan as well as the Arizona Board of Regents Student Health Insurance Program.
Reach the reporter at annalyn.censky@asu.edu.
