Medical plan cares at bargain prices

Tuesday, February 2, 1999

Medical plan cares at bargain prices

HEALTH: UCLA students find school insurance

a cheap option to HMOs

By Caridad Lezcano

Daily Bruin Contributor

Many Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) have been
scrutinized on both state and national levels because patients
claim that their insurance plans don’t cover all of their medical
needs.

On Jan. 20, a suit against an HMO was settled in the context of
the already heated debate between unhappy patients and their
insurance providers.

In the case, a jury rewarded $116 million in punitive damages to
a widow whose husband fought until his death against his HMO, which
wouldn’t pay for his experimental cancer treatment.

At UCLA, many students – 10,000 of the 34,000 – purchase the
Medical Insurance Plan (MIP) to meet their health care needs. The
plan is only available to registered UCLA students.

MIP differs from other plans because it offers "world-wide
coverage," while plans of similar cost by HMOs generally are
"limited coverage plans," according to Michele Pearson, director of
Ancillary Services at Student Health Services.

A limited coverage plan offers only certain services at other
facilities besides that of the provider, while a worldwide coverage
plan extends them.

For instance, if a patient needed emergency care while on a
trip, the HMO would pay for medical costs. However, if the patient
needed any extended treatment, they would be required to return
home for continued treatment. In contrast, MIP covers both
emergency care and extended services at any hospital if the patient
is over 50 miles away from UCLA Medical Center.

MIP was designed to give students supplemental services beyond
the basic health services offered at Arthur Ashe Student Health and
Wellness Center. These include hospitalization, emergency and
surgical care and medical care away from UCLA.

The Ashe Center is available to all registered students,
regardless of the kind of insurance they have. But, the services
are limited to basic medical care needs. For example, the Ashe
Center will take care of students with health issues ranging from
colds to gynecological problems, but won’t handle larger health
problems, such as surgery.

At $190 per quarter, MIP is cheaper than comparable plans, which
would cost at least $1,800 a year from an HMO.

"The sole purpose of the plan is to protect students by keeping
profit margins for insurance companies at a minimum," Pearson
said.

The low cost is due in part to the Student Health Insurance
Committee (SHIC), which negotiates the MIP benefits every year and
its cost to students. Members of this committee are appointed by
the Undergraduate Student Association Council.

"On this campus, MIP has an insured advocate in the
administration of the Ashe Center," Pearson said.

In addition, MIP is available for financial aid recipients. UCLA
offers a $90 credit per quarter toward the purchase of MIP – about
50 percent of its cost.

"Being away from home and my mom’s insurance plan, MIP acts as
an extra safety net in case of an emergency," said Sophia Speigal,
a third-year biology student.

Graduate and international students must purchase MIP if they
don’t have another form of coverage, Pearson said. In 1990, the
Graduate Student Association voted by referendum to make insurance
coverage mandatory for graduate students attending UCLA.

The program is recommended for uninsured undergraduates, but not
a requirement.

International students must also purchase MIP if they don’t have
another type of American insurance plan because of the difficulty
attaining medical care due to language barriers, according to
Pearson.

"I was not accustomed to this country’s medical policies and
would have been lost without MIP," said Don Michiolvich, a
second-year undeclared international student.

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