Student health fee makes some services free

February 2, 2012 by Fantasi Pridgon 

Fee up $4 over four years; patients pay for sutures, sterilization

Every UNLV undergraduate student pays a $72 student health fee each semester. That money covers many services that are offered at no additional cost at campus facilities, but many other basic health care services come with separate fees.

The Student Health Center, located in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, is part of an integrated service delivery unit which includes Student Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the Jean Nidetch Women’s Center and the Rebel Wellness Zone.

The SRWC charges for certain blood work and materials used during visits but not for visits themselves.

There are also charges for some psychological assessments.

Blood tests for total cholesterol and triglycerides are administered for no additional charge to students, but others come at a price. A strep throat test costs $23 and a complete blood count costs $28.

But assistant vice president for Student Wellness Jamie Davidson said these fees are below the average.

Davidson said strep tests typically cost $46-$67 and a complete blood count costs $32-$40 — not including the cost of a doctor’s visit.

Students are also charged for items such as sutures ($10), sterilization of equipment ($25-50) and lab biopsies ($200-300).

The student health fee increased $4 over the last four years, based on Consumer Prices Index (CPI) Medical Care inflation.

The wellness center implemented a no-show policy in August 2010 that charges students $20 for missing an appointment with the health center, CAPS or with the Rebel Wellness Zone dietitian without giving a 24-hour notice. $20 is also charged for failure to cancel a same-day appointment and students are charged $30 for failing to attend an appointment for couples counseling.

Each UNLV student pays $72 in student health fees each spring and fall semester and $37 in summer sessions. The University of Nevada, Reno charges $125 per semester.

Students cannot opt out of the student health fee.

As UNLV looks to hire new faculty and staff with funds raised by a net 5 percent increase in undergraduate resident student fees set to take effect in Fall 2012, CAPS is searching for a full-time staff psychiatrist to fill an open position.

All students can visit the Student Health Center to see physicians and nurse practitioners, who have the ability to write prescriptions.
Davidson said that employing nurse practitioners, not only physicians, saves UNLV money while still allowing the health center to provide essential services.

UNR’s School of Medicine and Touro University medical students often hold internships at the Student Health Center.
Davidson said the SRWC’s primary concern is to advance the well-being of UNLV students.

He also said that college retention rates are higher for students who use services associated with the Student Health Center.

“There is a strong connection between your academic performance and your health and wellness,” he said.

CAPS director Phoebe Kuo-Jackson said that students are allowed 12 sessions of counseling but seven sessions are used on average.
A triage counselor is on call during open office hours.

“If there is an urgent situation [students] can come in and say ‘I really need to see a counselor,’” Kuo-Jackson said. “We’ll see them right away.”

CAPS offers individual, couples and group counseling by licensed psychologists and by graduate students completing practicum training in the UNLV clinical psychology doctoral program and the counseling master’s program.

The Jean Nidetch Women’s Center concentrates primarily on gender issues and promoting equality and diversity.

The Rebel Wellness Zone provides students with wellness assessments, personal training, dietitian and lifestyle and weight management consults and a relaxation room with state-of-the-art automated massage chairs.

Most services offered by CAPS and the Rebel Wellness Zone are included in the student health fee.

Davidson said that students pay for these services individually so as to not spread costs over the whole UNLV student population, which enables the university to keep the health fee per student low.

He said some universities comparable in size to UNLV do not offer the same services as UNLV students have and that services that are provided often cost more elsewhere.

Davidson said that the Wellness Center strives to keep costs for students as low as possible in spite of budget cuts that have plagued UNLV.
Eva Choy, a medical technologist and Student Health Center lab manager, said the services offered to students are often better than what UNLV employees receive through their insurance.

“We kind of joke that the students get better health care than we do,” she said. “Our lab results take two or three weeks and here, [students] get a test order submitted to the lab and most of the results are available [in] five to 10 minutes.”

According to findings from the 2011 UNLV Health Benefits Survey, most UNLV employees cannot afford basic health care.

The survey, conducted by the UNLV Faculty Senate Administrative Faculty and Fiscal Affairs committees and the UNLV Classified Staff Council, reported that at least 60.8 percent of respondents said they have chosen not to fill prescriptions prescribed by their doctors because they could not afford the medicine, since changes to the Public Employees Benefits Program have increased costs.

For individuals participating in the PEBP Health Maintenance Organization program, premiums increased by 112 percent, while families saw an increase of 63 percent. Individual participants in the PEBP Preferred Provider plan saw annual deductibles rise from $800 to $1,900 and $1,600 to $3,800 for families.

Since the onset of university financial cutbacks in 2007, the Student Health Center reduced hours of operation from 12 to 10 hours a day.
Davidson said that few students come to the health center during its later hours, 6 — 8 p.m., which were cut.

In addition to paying the student health fee, undergraduate resident and non-resident students have the option of enrolling in the Student Health Insurance Plan, offered by Aetna through UNLV.

Students with insurance have minimal extra costs in regard to lab work, including a $5 blood draw fee.

International students are required to enroll in SHIP, and SHIP is part of graduate students’ contracts with their departments, which contribute a portion of the premium.

One year of health coverage under SHIP costs $1,650. The insurance can be broken up by semester with the option of excluding the summer term based on student preference.

The coverage can be used anywhere Aetna insurance is accepted.

There are approximately 1,700 students currently enrolled in SHIP.

Walk-in appointments are available at the Student Health Center, where the average wait time is five minutes.

The center has 18 exam rooms and its own accredited lab.

The Student Health Center is fully accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.

Fantasi Pridgon reports on health issues for The Rebel Yell. Contact her at fantasi.pridgon.ry@gmail.com.