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MOUNT M ARY UNI V ERSIT Y
www.ArchesNews.com Milwaukee, Wis.
October/November 2013
Volume 90, Number 1
ENFORCED HEALTH CARE Students lose options, pick up costs as new law goes into effect By Cristina De La Torre
Beginning this fall, Mount Mary University mandated student health insurance. This sudden change has caused some confusion. Students were informed about upcoming changes in mid-April through an email sent by Martha Nelson, former associate dean of student affairs. Students were told that if they did not provide proof of their own health insurance plan by completing the waiver before Aug. 24, 2013 or upon course enrollment, they would automatically be added onto the university’s plan. The Mount Mary plan is administered by Wisconsin Physicians Services. Mount Mary’s mandate preceeded the nation’s mandate that requires everyone to have a health insurance provider by Jan. 2014 or pay a tax penalty.
These penalties increase over the next three years. One can be exempt from paying these penalties if the insurance costs in his or her area are more than 8 percent of one’s taxable income, according to ehealthinsurance.com. Students do have the option of finding other health insurance providers. With the recent open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, on Oct. 1, students can get coverage for 2014 if they sign up before Dec. 15 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2014. Evelyn Jimenez, Mount Mary graduate student in counseling, is one of the students who enrolled in Mount Mary’s new health insurance policy. Jimenez became frustrated when WPS referred her to a student health center that Mount Mary does not have. According to WPS, Mount Mary is included in the three-
Comparison of local school health plans
MMU Alverno
Individual Annual Cost
Max. Benefit
In-Network Deductible
Out-of-Network Deductible
Student Health Center
$1,401.60
$100,000
$100
$200
NO
$2,207
$500,000
$200
$500
YES
$100,000
$200
$500
YES
$500,000
$300
$500
YES
$500,000
$200
$500
YES
students under age 26:
Marquette
$1,915;
students age 26-35:
$2,300
students age 25 and under:
UWM
$2,812;
students 26-35:
$3,192
MSOE
$2,267
Graphic by Denise SEYfer and Rennie Patterson
Health care plan information found on the Mount Mary University website (http://mtmary. edu/campuslife/resources/insurance.html) and the Student Assurance Services, Inc. website (http://www.sas-mn.com) provides a clearer view of how Mount Mary stacks up against some of the other colleges and universities in the area.
See Enforced, page 2
Requirements for Affordable Care Act subsidy • Must live in the United States • Must be U.S. citizen or be lawfully present in the U.S., such as through a green card • Household income must be between 133 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level • Must not be incarcerated
Benefits of Affordable Care Act
Photo illustration by Rennie Patterson
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• Insurance companies required to cover people with pre-existing conditions • No cost-sharing preventive care services • An increase in women’s health care mandatory coverage (pap smears, birth control, etc.) • Coverage under parent’s plan until age 26 • No lifetime dollar limit on covered benefits for health insurance
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