How can I be forced to accept health and dental insurance by my university?

[BigToque]

It's going to cost me $238 for health and dental insurance through my university.

Obviously $238 is a completely trivial amount of money, but how can they force me to take insurance? I don't want their insurance. The package itself sucks and I can get better insurance from my work if I wanted (which I don't). The only way to get out of it is to show proof that I have alternate coverage.

Shit like this really pisses me off.

Edit: I'd also like to point out, it's not being forced on me by the university.It's being forced on me by the Students Union and then somehow tacked on to my university fee. Somehow I was also forced into being part of a union I have no interest in being a part of...

 

[Ryan]

They're not forcing you to do anything - your choice to attend their college is purely that: your choice. These kind of admissions qualifications are usually clearly stated in your school's handbook.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Mandates rock! This is what Obama wants.

 

[eldorado99]

Mine was similar, by the time I found out it was almost mandatory they said the cut-off for withdrawal from it had long passed and I either had to pay for it or forget coming to school.

 

[fleabag]

My sister's university forced her to buy a bunch of crap that was just that, crap and I still question whether or not she could've gotten away with not buying it. Try to protest and not buy the insurance and see what happens, maybe it's just a bunch of administration crap and when push comes to shove, they won't actually care enough to deny you admission just because of some nonsense like that.. I mean sacrifice thousands of dollars of a student's tuition because of their own stupid policy? I don't think so, but who knows!

oh, I didn't see eldorado's post, maybe you can withdraw from it... I mean if you have your own health insurance, wth would you need to pay for their plan??

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: Ryan
They're not forcing you to do anything - your choice to attend their college is purely that: your choice. These kind of admissions qualifications are usually clearly stated in your school's handbook.

Insurance and going to school should be mutually exclusive. I shouldn't be forced to get insurance because I want to go to school. If a school wants to give their students the option to get insurance that's one thing. To force them is another thing entirely.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

This is a standard thing. for the UC system in California you can either opt for student health coverage (200/quarter + 100 per year deductible then unlimited visits) or show proof of your own insurance. The 200 is added on to your tuition automatically if you do not file a waiver in time. Failure to pay it results in all your classes being dropped for the quarter.

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Ryan
They're not forcing you to do anything - your choice to attend their college is purely that: your choice. These kind of admissions qualifications are usually clearly stated in your school's handbook.

Insurance and going to school should be mutually exclusive. I shouldn't be forced to get insurance because I want to go to school. If a school wants to give their students the option to get insurance that's one thing. To force them is another thing entirely.

Should be? According to who? I can't say specifically why, but I would imagine it has something to do with your ability to attend school, which is greatly dependent on your ability to be in good health and actually be able to attend class without significant interruption, directly effecting attrition rates. From the universities perspective, I could see it as a precautionary measure to ensure that a medical problem will not prevent you from completion of your degree.

 

[Born2bwire]

It's because you're Canadian.

I always had the option to opt out should I wanted to at my University. I was on my folks' insurance but I think it was upon my majority year that I went with the University plan since my parents no longer got a good discount due to my age.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah, how can they force a person to buy insurance...

How can they force you to contribute to a retirement fund...

Etc.

 

[flashbacck]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Yeah, how can they force a person to buy insurance...

How can they force you to contribute to a retirement fund...

Etc.

Ugh, I remember being forced to be in a union. No matter what you had to pay a minimum fee, but you didn't get voting rights unless you paid the full membership fee. So annoying.

 

[Jeff7]

Is that per month, per year, or per semester??

 

[daniel1113]

My school does the same thing and it pissed me off, especially since it is technically a state school.

I imagine is has to do with the university health center not wanting to have to deal with anyone that is not insured.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Ryan
They're not forcing you to do anything - your choice to attend their college is purely that: your choice. These kind of admissions qualifications are usually clearly stated in your school's handbook.

Insurance and going to school should be mutually exclusive. I shouldn't be forced to get insurance because I want to go to school. If a school wants to give their students the option to get insurance that's one thing. To force them is another thing entirely.

i agree...but why arent you taking advantage of cheaper insurance at work if you can get it and think the amount of money is "trivial"

id gladly get myself decent health insurance if i could afford it...i just cant afford it and eat better than ramen noodles and bottled water.

 

[boomhower]

My school required insurance as well. Either theirs or your own. To me it makes sense. When you cram that many people into a small space, especially in the dorms, disease spreads like wild fire. One person on a floor gets the flue and next thing you know the whole floor has. If you don't have insurance you likely won't go to the doctor and get well further spreading the disease around.

 

[Mo0o]

People w/o insurance are less likely to get treated for any and all things. When you're packed into a freshman dorm, that's just asking for disaster.

 

[edro]

Forge an insurance verification letter.

It's the best solution.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
People w/o insurance are less likely to get treated for any and all things. When you're packed into a freshman dorm, that's just asking for disaster.

Depending on the school, most students don't even live in dorms. Hell, I'm a law student and was required to have health insurance.

 

[Sea Moose]

lisa needs braces

 

[slsmnaz]

so your solution is to go completely uncovered? Great plan and it looks like they know what they're doing by forcing it on you

 

[ryan256]

Originally posted by: BigToque
It's going to cost me $238 for health and dental insurance through my university.

Obviously $238 is a completely trivial amount of money, but how can they force me to take insurance? I don't want their insurance. The package itself sucks and I can get better insurance from my work if I wanted (which I don't). The only way to get out of it is to show proof that I have alternate coverage.

Shit like this really pisses me off.

Welcome to your first taste of ObamaCare.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: BigToque
It's going to cost me $238 for health and dental insurance through my university.

Obviously $238 is a completely trivial amount of money, but how can they force me to take insurance? I don't want their insurance. The package itself sucks and I can get better insurance from my work if I wanted (which I don't). The only way to get out of it is to show proof that I have alternate coverage.

Shit like this really pisses me off.

You can get better coverage from work but you don't want to. So, then stop complaining. If you can't figure out why the University would want all of their students to have health/dental insurance, maybe you're not ready to attend yet.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Ryan
They're not forcing you to do anything - your choice to attend their college is purely that: your choice. These kind of admissions qualifications are usually clearly stated in your school's handbook.

Insurance and going to school should be mutually exclusive. I shouldn't be forced to get insurance because I want to go to school. If a school wants to give their students the option to get insurance that's one thing. To force them is another thing entirely.

An uninsured student walking around campus is a liability.

 

[MotF Bane]

UML requires that all students have insurance, but that's not so much the school as the state laws. Your school might be forced into it.

 

[mcvickj]

I don't know how it works in Canada but when I was going to college as long as I was a full time student and under 25 I was still covered under my parents health insurance.