Lennie Heddins said Eastern’s student health insurance plan is the cheapest coverage offered by any university in the state.

Heddins, student health insurance supervisor, said the Student Government votes on the student insurance fee for each semester.

The student insurance fee for Spring 2008 and Fall 2008 is $109.95. Coverage over the summer is $87.45, Heddins said.

“We are a smaller campus, so that’s part of it,” Heddins said. “SIU has a bigger campus and the amount they will cover is higher, but so is the cost to students.”

Students at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale will pay a $181 student medical benefit fee starting in the fall, according to SIU’s public relations Web site.

A report released by the United States Government Accountability Office in March found that most student health insurance plans range in cost from $30 to $2,400 and vary in the amount and types of coverage.

The report stated many schools work with their campus health centers to help keep costs down.

Heddins said Eastern’s student insurance plan allows students to go to any physician in the country but does not cover preventative services or prescription benefits.

All students taking nine or more credit hours at Eastern are required to have some type of medical insurance, she said.

Students taking nine or more credit hours are provided with the student health insurance plan and are automatically billed the fee along with their tuition and fees.

Insurance can be purchased by Eastern students taking 6, 7 or 8 credit hours.

Those who have equal or better insurance can fill out a waiver in order to be exempt from the fee.

The Government Accountability Office’s report also found that 67 percent of college students receive health insurance through employer-sponsored plans. These plans cover employees and dependents.

Although many students are covered under their parents’ health insurance, Heddins said it is a good idea for students to pay for the student plan.

“Health insurance is a very costly industry,” she said. “Their parents’ plan might only pay for part of a hospital visit after the deductible is taken out, and having student health insurance can help pick up some of the slack so there is less out-of-pocket expense.”

Heddins said the maximum payable benefit per diagnosis is $15,000 at 80 percent. A $50 deductible is taken out for each injury or illness per academic year.

The national benefit amounts range from $2,500 to $1 million, according to the report.

While many universities require full-time students to have some type of insurance coverage, the Government Accountability Office reports that there are 1.7 million students uninsured.

Students who don’t have coverage oftentimes have to deal with expensive medical bills. Heddins said sometimes finding the money to pay for health care can be too much for uninsured students to deal with.

“If a student suffers some sort of illness or injury – whatever it may be – you’d be faced with catastrophic medical bills,” Heddins said. “Chances are you’re looking at dropping out of school, having to find employment to try and pay those medical expenses. Insurance coverage is almost like a peace of mind for students.”

Barbara Harrington can be reached at 581-7942 or at bjharrington@eiu.edu.