By Ladiyah Beachum –
New Jersey City University (NJCU) full-time students remain skeptical about paying for Student Health Insurance. Full-time students that don’t have coverage are obligated to have the First Student (United Health Care) Plan. This year, the insurance plan costs $1,050 for undergraduate students and $1,505 for graduate students.
Although the health insurance is quite expensive, NJCU President Sue Henderson said, “Healthcare in general is a problem that everyone should consider,” and that while it may be pricey, “I believe it to be important for everyone in our campus community.”
Other universities and colleges in New Jersey, such as Stockton, William Paterson, Felician and Montclair University all have similar policies. While other facilities require students to purchase health coverage, students who already have their own health insurance are able to fill out a waiver form.
“It is in fact the same as other universities; the deadline for students to waive the insurance was Sept. 26. The extension date was Oct. 4, which we worked out with the student insurance,” said Peter Ljutic, 56, NJCU Director of Student Financial Services & Risk Manager. “Being that all the state universities – Ramapo, Montclair, The College of NJ, William Paterson, Stockton, NJCU and Rowan – work together, we were able to get a good price.”
Art “Authur” Chill, Bursar Representative at Ramapo College said, “As far as we are concerned, we don’t force it on the students, we plant it on the student’s bill and it’s their responsibility to waive it. We assume that if they do not fill out the waiver, they want the insurance. We do not force the student to have insurance, it’s a choice.”
Keyana Williams, 22, Psychology, from Jersey City doesn’t like the policy and said, “I feel like it’s wrong, considering the fact that some people can’t afford it. I didn’t have insurance, so I had to get the school’s insurance.”
“I feel like they’re neglecting our rights. We’re here to get educated, not to get medicated,” said graduate student Alpha Rodriquez, 25, Counseling.
Others believe that the Student Health Insurance can potentially be beneficial to all students giving them a sense of security.
While students may complain about the cost of the insurance up front, Dave Opperman, President of First Risk Advisors – United Exclusive Representative disagrees.
“Well in terms of pricing, what I can tell you is, the prices are pretty reasonable especially for your undergraduates. There are a lot of students that take advantage.”
Ljutic similarly said, “The larger the numbers, the better the prices you get. If we break the full year undergraduate premium of $1,050, the monthly cost is $87.50.”
Opperman also noted that a lot of that money does not go to waste, contrary to popular belief.
“People need the insurance and people use the insurance. It really does fill the need for the students. We’re paying almost two billion dollars for NJCU students alone.”
Kelly Sherman • Mar 5, 2014 at 7:25 am
I found your article to be very interesting. However, I would like to expand on one thing. What about the parents who were unaware that this insurance charge would be automatically added to the tuition bill and at that point it is too late to get it taken off. Well, I am that parent, and not sure if I am the only one. In my daughter’s second year at NJCU, we were unaware that we had to go online and fill out a waiver that we already were insured since the first year it was done at orientation on hard copies. We could not receive a credit and therefore, paid for DOUBLE insurance. I am a single parent of two girls and really could not afford to pay another $700-800 for something I already had. I think you should write another article making studemts aware of this charge if they DO NOT fill out the waiver. NJCU has a habit of charging FEES of all types for facilities that some students don’t use their entire campus lifetime, therefore, I’m not surprised at what happened to me and has probably happened to more people than imaginable. Thank you.