Health Insurance May Not Be Good For Students

Bemidji State University is making health insurance mandatory for students who are already struggling 

to pay tuition

By Eric Oslund

In the wake of a series of budget cuts in the last couple years, BSU has now added another cost for students by making health insurance mandatory for students, beginning spring semester. Administration brought this idea to the student senate last spring semester and they approved it. However, the student body was not informed of this until Oct. 18, just three weeks before it would be made mandatory.

I am able be covered by my parents health insurance policy, so this new idea of mandatory health insurance is not a big deal to me. School provided health insurance does seem like it could be a good idea, but BSU went about it all wrong.

                  According to student senate members Sarah Shepherd and Joe Moubry only 12% of the student body does not have health insurance, and they want to make sure that 12% is safe.

                  BSU should not have made it mandatory, but instead made it optional or recommended. That way the ones who could afford it would be able to get it and those who could not afford it would not have to worry about it.

                  However, since the University did make the health insurance mandatory, it should have given the student body more time to prepare for the change. There are a couple things they could have done to do this. One they should have told the students about it right when the decision was made, they should have waited till the fall 2012 semester so students would have the summer to raise money, or even asked the student body their opinion before voting on it.

                  Being in classes and walking around campus one could tell that students are not happy about this new decision. Students all around campus have complaints about the whole situation in one way or another. There was poor communication between administration and students, and a lot of students without health insurance do not believe it is the schools responsibility to provide it to them.

                  There are now students who have to take out loans, on top of the ones they are taking out for tuition, in order to pay for health insurance. This is something President Richard Hanson does not want. According to multiple BSU reporters Hanson does not want students to have to take out loans to pay for health insurance, he wants them to graduate with as little debt as possible.

                  BSU student Tricia Tuntland, said she had never had health insurance, so why would she need it now? Another student, Tara Rootes, said she is a mother of five, so if she could afford health insurance she would definitely have it.

                  It is understandable that there are situations where people cannot afford health insurance, but it is a good idea for everyone to have it. You never know when something will happen, you can break your arm, or get in a car crash, even when nothing bad has happened to you before.

Eric Oslund is a student at Bemidji State University where the health care changes are taking place.