College students are, given the environment, prone to accidents and sickness, but may not pay attention to their health insurance coverage.

Angela Campbell, of the Student Health Insurance Office, said Eastern’s health insurance program is largely beneficial for all Eastern students in different ways.

To be automatically enrolled in the student health insurance program, students have to be enrolled in nine or more on-campus hours.

“Anyone that fits that criteria is enrolled automatically,” Campbell said.

Students who are enrolled in six, seven or eight hours can purchase Eastern’s health insurance plan from the office.

“Those people who are part-time students can still take advantage of the plan,” she said.

“For students who want to be insured for fall and spring, the cost is less than $25 a month.”

Campbell said the fall and spring rates are $109.95 and the summer rate is $87.45.

“The nice thing about the plan is that there’s no network, so it covers students anywhere off campus,” she said. “Students can choose their own doctor and get care at home if they need to.”

Campbell said Eastern’s insurance plan is unique and differs from the plans offered at other area universities.

“We don’t require referrals, and it’s a very easy-to-use and accommodating plan,” she said.

She said many of the area schools she has read about have insurance plans that cost at least $300 per semester.

“They have different plans than we do, obviously, but for most things, our plan really meets the needs of our students,” she said.

Campbell said one of the most common things she hears is students saying they have other insurance plans so they cannot have the plan Eastern offers.

“That’s not true,” she said. “A good percentage of students carry both a primary and (Eastern’s student health insurance) as a secondary.”

Campbell said the recent changes in economy and health care have affected insurance nationwide.

“Because of the changes in health care, the deductibles go higher and higher now,” she said. “Typically, the student insurance will cover things like that.”

Campbell said that for students who may have a $5,000 deductible on their primary insurance, the student insurance could be handy and a lot more affordable.

“We tell many of our students that, oftentimes, it costs more not to have it than to have it,” she said.

Campbell used appendicitis and other unplanned and unpredictable illnesses as an example.

“It’s unexpected and out of the blue,” she said. “You could be talking about $15,000.”

Campbell said students who have both a primary insurance and a secondary insurance through Eastern can get more coverage and can take a deductible down further than if they only had a primary.

“It really is affordable insurance, and it makes a world of difference for so many students,” she said.

Campbell said the change in economy has affected students’ use of Eastern’s insurance.

“It used to be that almost all students had primary insurance, but we’ve seen that change,” she said. “Economic conditions exist now where more people are out of work and don’t have that.”

She said many students now have Eastern’s insurance because they cannot afford another type.

“It all depends on the family situation, but unless you live locally and have a local network, I think everyone should take advantage of it,” she said.

Campbell encourages all students to get more informed about their insurance program at Eastern’s health insurance website.

Robyn Dexter can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].

http://eiu.edu/studentinsurance/index.php