Opinion Article

BSU Requiring Health Insurance For Registration

Students Outraged In New Policy

BSU has required starting spring semester of 2012. Health issues have been coming up a lot for our health services center that they are making students have health care in order to admission to our campus. Making this a requirement in order to be a student at BSU is not only an outrage but it is unfair to the student population that does not have Insurance.

International students are being forced to purchase BSU’s health insurance regardless of their coverage elsewhere. Students who commute have a higher cost of living, and they do not need more bills. Although BSU has many students on campus they also have many that are strictly online. Even though this new Health Care issues does not affect the online students we are seeing trends that are taking place that may ultimately affect them in the future.

Criteria now for admission onto BSU campus has changed. If you are a student that takes classes face-to-face or on campus and are taking 6 or more credits you are being forced to have Health Insurance. I don’t know how they can make such a force onto students but it seems that the bill has passed and classes in January will only be offered to those who follow. Now if a student already has health insurance they are not going to be bothered. They just need to provide their insurance information and they are all done.

I am a student who is covered under my father’s insurance, who is a doctor, and I still believe that this policy is outrageous. I just turned 25 years of age and to be placed under my fathers’ health coverage would cost less than getting my own. With all the additional fees that students have to pay already this is just another one that we don’t need; Car Payment, Rent, Tuition, Athletic fees and green fees, etc. Obama-care has allowed us to maintain health insurance until we are 26 under our parents, but what about those students who are not? Many students on campus are unable to afford this extra payment, and I believe that if BSU allows this to continue they will see a decrease in numbers.

My friend attended the University of Minnesota-Moorhead, who has had this policy implemented for a few years now. He does not have health insurance and was never asked about it. The loophole in this policy is lying. If they really want to understand what the students want all they have to do is ask. I have not yet been polled on anything concerning this issue, and I have talked to a few other students who feel the same.

“BSU does not want their student to stick around; they want them to gain admission and then graduate as soon as possible,” said Business Prof. Doug Leif. If this is true then why do they keep raising tuition? All they need to do is leave the students who have health insurance alone and the ones that don’t, let them make their own decisions. Forcing something on the students that is not required by anyone else is preposterous.

In order for this school to maintain its credibility and maintain its numbers, they need to understand that school is not cheap in general. Adding other bills to students who are barely making it in the first place is outrageous. Health insurance is needed, and why is BSU making student buy something that no one else is being forced to purchase.