Campus Health Solutions and Student Insurance Consulting
HORAN
Campus Health Solutions Health care is essential today more than ever. Colleges and universities need bold innovation backed by data to help their students and campuses thrive. We integrate a total campus approach to student insurance with comprehensive services to achieve superior physical, behavioral, mental and academic results for your students and employees. Your institution will experience reduced administrative burden, better efficiency, lower costs and increased plan engagement. Download the HORAN Campus Health Solutions E-Guide to learn the key components for offering a robust student health plan. .
HORAN 7475 Paragon Rd Dayton OH 45459 937-610-3700 https://horanassoc.com/
Start or Upgrade Your Student Health and Wellness Program on Campus To say the year 2020 was unexpected is an understatement. The COVID-19 global pandemic disrupted every industry and ecosystem, accelerating change to meet increasingly urgent emerging needs. In-person interaction-heavy environments like colleges and universities felt the unprecedented risks of COVID-19 acutely. Suddenly, student health and wellness was thrust to the forefront of campuses across the country. Most colleges and universities are continuing to navigate these new challenges on campus. The American College Health Association (ACHA)'s survey, "The Impact of COVID-19 on College Student Well-Being," found rates of depression sharply increased from fall 2019 to spring 2020, and more students than ever reported experiencing poor mental health. According to the New York Times, as of December 2020, more than 397,000 COVID-19 cases and 90 deaths on campuses were reported since the pandemic began. With student mental and physical health increasingly at risk, many campuses are asking: how can we better address our student health and wellness needs? Start the Student Wellness Conversation Here… If your campus has no student health insurance program (SHIP) or limited benefits, you need to start with the basics. Ask yourself the following questions to get a picture of your current and future needs: 1.) What are our campus demographics (gender, age, home zip/country, etc.)? You need a clear picture of your campus demographics to gain quotes from health insurance providers who can offer cost-effective coverage for your campus. Gathering quality data is the first step to assessing and satisfying your campus health needs. 2.) Do we want to offer a hard waiver or mandatory health insurance option for our student population? This essentially asks whether you want students to be automatically enrolled in a campus health insurance plan (mandatory) or if you'd like to offer students the opportunity to provide proof of health insurance and, if not provided, enroll them in a campus plan (hard waiver). Your approach may depend on your student population's current coverage status, campus size or other factors. An experienced consultant can help you navigate your options to determine the best path for your unique needs.
3.) What services do we offer and how do we charge students for these services? For many campuses, the Campus Health Center provides certain services to students. Some campuses bill students via ledger, while others do not. Some campuses want all health claims to go through a campus insurance provider, while others only run claims for services outside the campus health center. Work with a quality consultant to determine what works best for your campus environment. 4.) What are the needs of each student population group on campus? Depending on the campus, you may have international students, graduate students, student-athletes or a large commuter population, among other significant student groups. How are each student group's unique needs the same or different from others, and how should you structure coverage and services to meet those needs? We work alongside campuses to reduce administrative burden and time, increase efficiency, lower cost and improve plan engagement. See what we've done with our current partnerships here. Let us help make your campus a happier, healthier place. Get in touch with Chris Mihin, Vice President and Managing Principal of HORAN Campus Health, at ChrisM@horanassoc.com or 513.702.3707 or fill out a simple contact form to get more information. Read more……
Campus Insurance Program for Students: How Does Yours Compare?
Authored by HORAN Campus Health Solutions University health plans are becoming more important for students. Health and wellness are critical for academic success, and insured students tend to be healthier than their uninsured counterparts. Student health insurance plans offered through colleges and universities provide benefits that are more affordable for the average student, compared to comparable plans on the open market. Sadly, not all student health insurance options are created equal. How does your campus healthcare program stand up? To be competitive in today’s market, your student health plan should provide a variety of important benefits, including affordability, comprehensive plans designs, and a wide network of providers to give coverage to students regardless of their distance from campus or from home. And that’s just the beginning. Here are some other points of comparison you may want to think about if you want to offer the best university health insurance program. Health Insurance Standards Increasing for University Students Students and their families have done their homework, and many are cognizant of what is available with regard to campus healthcare. With rising health insurance costs around the nation, parents of college-age students are comparing and contrasting the plans that will keep their children healthy and in school.
Characteristics of the Best Student Health Insurance Plans Step right up and measure your campus healthcare program against the following checklist. The ideal program will be attractive enough to draw new students to your college or university while providing students with a seamless experience whenever health care is needed. Here are some other points to think about as you conduct your campus health insurance comparison. Health Benefits Competitive healthcare plans now offer 100% coverage for preventive care when an innetwork provider is chosen. Cost Benefits Student health insurance plans obtained through colleges and universities often give benefits that are more affordable than comparable plans on the ACA open market. Many of these plans go for $2,000 to 4,000 per academic year, according to the New York Times. Wide Network of Providers A sizable number of health plans offered by today’s colleges include a national network of healthcare providers and pharmacies. The policies provide coverage regardless of the distance from campus or from home. Many plans are aligned with the university’s Student Health Services, allowing for oncampus care. Students can also be referred to appropriate in-network providers off-campus for more extensive or continuous care. Mental Health Mental health issues are on the rise for many college students. Some insurance providers offer health plan access to expert behavioral health support for college students. These services help students manage stress and other common problems that detract from their wellness and academic success. Comprehensive Plans The best university health plans are customized to meet the needs of the campus’s student body as a whole. The policies provide a wide range of services, such as preventive care, doctor visits, accidental injury, hospitalization, outpatient surgery, diagnostic benefits, and prescription drug coverage. Wellness Discounts A good health care plan for universities and colleges would allow students to receive discounts on a range of health and wellness services, as well as products. Examples include savings on services like fitness club memberships, dental care, nutritional counseling, vitamins, and health-related books. Telehealth Services Last but not least, many campus insurance plans give students the ability to phone doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals with no need for a consulting fee. This gives students round-the-clock access to diagnostics for minor illnesses, such as allergies and sore throats. Doctors can also prescribe medications, which can be sent to the student’s pharmacy of choice. Are Your University Healthcare Coverage Options Lacking? Continue reading….
Use Personalized Health Insurance Options to Help Your Campus Thrive To help students across the country live healthier lives, colleges and universities have a chance to enact lasting change by offering a personalized health insurance experience and options. Let’s take a more detailed look into what one of these plans might look like, and how offering a tailored health program can help your campus thrive. What is a Personalized Health Insurance Experience for Students? The primary goal of a personalized health insurance experience is to help students keep their healthcare costs in check while providing them with the resources and care needed to maintain optimum health. Having a competitive student insurance plan available ensures more students arrive on campus with adequate health insurance, which is a major concern of college administrators. Students are afforded the option to choose a plan that is tailored toward the university demographic, an individual plan, or they may be eligible for a group plan through a parent or spouse. How Does a Student Health Insurance Plan Compare to an ACA Marketplace Plan? Health Benefits A student health insurance plan allows students to evaluate the plan design and network to determine if it provides coverage and convenient access to the benefits they will utilize most often. A person with chronic health issues like asthma or diabetes will need distinct coverage from an individual who is otherwise healthy. An ACA marketplace plan offers generalized care with benefits designed to fit most people, leading to a potential mismatch. Cost Benefits Student health insurance plans are designed to be affordable for individuals starting from scratch. They are made to be more affordable than the average plan on the ACA marketplace, which is good news for students who are traditionally low on resources. In fact, some parents find that signing their children up for a campus student health insurance plan is less expensive than adding the child as a dependent on their own health plans. Nationwide Provider Network A prime benefit of customized student health plans is the availability of in-network healthcare providers and pharmacies nationwide. This gives students access to personalized medicine and adequate care no matter how far away they are from campus. ACA marketplace networks don’t always cast as wide a net when listing their in-network healthcare services.
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Wellness Discounts A good majority of tailored student insurance plans now include discount programs. By enrolling in a plan, students earn savings on a wide range of health and wellness products and services, like dental care, vision care, vitamins, and books. ACA marketplace plans often give you coverage and little else as a side benefit. With a campus-wide insurance program, your campus will be sure to thrive. That means students will have the tools they need to manage their intellectual, psychological, and interpersonal well-being while enrolled in your college. It is the synergistic coming together of all those elements that leads to improved academic performance, better future prospects for students, and higher enrollment each semester. Patch Up the Uninsured Gaps The age cut-off for students to remain as dependents on their parents’ health insurance plans ensures that young people get the affordable healthcare they need when a college or university health plan is not available. But what about those who turn 26 and don’t have a student health plan to turn to? Many of these individuals may go without insurance and stay uninsured into adulthood. According to a 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), young people aged 19 to 34 had the highest uninsured rates out of any other group in the U.S. This is your chance to help all students achieve insured status. Because not having health insurance can be detrimental to one’s academic success. A lack of insurance or poor coverage can lead to untreated illness and financial stress that doesn’t bode well for higher learning excellence. This is why giving students access to a health program where they call the shots allows them to live up to their true potential. Read more….
5 Ways College Administrators Can Improve the Health and Wellness of Their Students Authored by HORAN Campus Health Solutions Happy college students make for a happy college campus. And while many factors contribute to a person’s happiness, one’s overall health and wellness play an outsized role. From an administrative level, colleges and universities are uniquely poised to improve the health and wellness of their students, contributing to a happier student population and a more positive campus experience. In the 2018–2019 academic year, there were approximately 22 million undergraduate students in the U.S. Among those students, only 41 percent rated their health as “very good,” and only 55 percent saw their institution as prioritizing their health and wellbeing. What would your campus population say about your health and wellness priorities and coverage? To help tip the scales in your favor, we’re here with 5 ways your administration can improve the health and wellness of your students. 1. Offer a student health insurance plan that is economical yet comprehensive One of the most direct and quantifiable ways to improve the health and wellness of your students is to offer a campus health insurance plan that prioritizes comprehensive coverage for services they want at a premium they can afford. Ensuring students have immediate and convenient access to quality care built around their lifestyle and needs presents for them the opportunity to take charge of their own wellbeing, and it sends a resounding message that your administration values their health and happiness. Now, ensuring students take advantage of the health services and coverage available to them is another matter entirely. About 75 percent of students opt out of their campus health insurance plan, the reason for which could be as complex as eligibility or preference, or as simple as access to other adequate coverage or a lack of awareness. To remedy the latter, education is key. Consider informing students about their options in ways they will resonate, such as through gamification, apps, or other interactive tools. By empowering students to take advantage of healthcare services on campus, you encourage them to be proactive about their own health and, in turn, improve their overall wellbeing and that of your campus as a whole. To learn more about how to get started, download our “eGuide to a Robust Student Health Insurance Plan.”
2. Understand your students and their needs Before you can begin exploring coverage options for your students, you must first understand who they are and what they need. Diving into the demographics of your campus is the best place to start. Aside from basic data points such as age, gender, and home zip codes, you’ll also want to consider information about student population groups (like student athletes or international students), the services currently offered at your health center, and which of those services students are and are not taking advantage of. An expert consultant can be an invaluable resource in helping you gather and analyze the data that will inform your campus health plan.
3. Prioritize mental health services While college students have long been predisposed to mental health conditions like anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts, the coronavirus pandemic has only worsened the state of mental health among young people. As we reported in last month’s blog post, 83 percent of college students say mental health challenges affected their performance one or more days in the last month, yet more than half of students say they wouldn’t know where to go if they or someone they knew needed professional help. This alarming statistic paints a clear picture of a gap in a crucial service college students need now. By increasing the availability of mental health services on your campus—and by educating students on where and how they can access them—you’ll make a direct impact in the lives of your students and improve the health and happiness of your campus population. 4. Provide comprehensive health services that meet students where they are Where do students spend a bulk of their time? Behind their laptops or mobile devices. Much like many students prefer virtual learning and office hours to in-person classes or visits with their professors, many also prefer telehealth visits to meeting with a healthcare provider onsite. When it comes to mental health issues especially, students are much less likely to get the care they need if they’re required to show up in person. In fact, more than two-thirds of college students say they are struggling with mental health today, yet less than 25 percent are directly seeking out care. Telehealth services can be an effective way to increase student access to healthcare services, while also combating the stigma associated with mental health care. With telehealth options, students can visit with a care provider from the privacy of home, at a convenient time between classes, work, and other responsibilities. On-campus kiosks that offer over-the-counter medications are another way to ensure students can more readily access healthcare without interrupting their busy schedules. Read more….
HORAN 7475 Paragon Rd Dayton OH 45459 937-610-3700 https://horanassoc.com/ About us HORAN provides legendary service, employee benefits consulting, wealth management and life insurance for both corporate and individual clients. For over 70 years, HORAN has served as a trusted advisor and thorough planner in the areas of life insurance for estate and business planning, employee benefits consulting and wealth management. With offices in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; and Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, HORAN serves both corporate and individual clients in 48 states. HORAN has a strong regional presence with a national footprint. We bring the best services, resources and value to our clients through premier national partnerships with M Financial Group, United Benefit Advisors and Retirement Planning Advisory Group. Our integrity, commitment to excellence and industry knowledge are foundations upon which HORAN has built a reputation for delivering high quality products and services.