Northwestern health insurance helpful for some, unnecessary for others

When McCormick junior Antonio Rocha first arrived at Northwestern, he opted out of Northwestern’s Student Health Insurance Plan thinking his personal one was sufficient. 

But after running into medical issues during his freshman year, Rocha realized his plan didn’t cover much. He contacted the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid in the middle of the academic year and asked for coverage, which he obtained after some hesitation on their end, he said. 

“The specifics of figuring out if your plan was a comparable plan was a little bit too complicated,” Rocha said. “They have all these things listed out and it was just very difficult to parse through the information.”

NU evaluates personal health insurance plans through a yearly online questionnaire that students must fill out, or else they will be automatically enrolled in NU-SHIP. The University determines essential health benefits as those defined by the Affordable Care Act, ranging from outpatient care and emergency services to prescription drugs and maternity care. 

If students answer “no” to any of their personal plans’ requirements, they are required to enroll in NU-SHIP to ensure full coverage while on campus.

Though NU-SHIP is optional for all undergraduate and graduate students who reside within the U.S., international students are required to enroll in NU-SHIP — even if they have a comparable plan in their home country. 

The annual premium cost of NU’s insurance plan is $4,386. Still, in-network provided care will cost students a $250 deductible before NU-SHIP begins its coverage and an annual out-of-pocket limit of $2,000. The deductible amount increases to $500 for out-of-network care. 

NU-SHIP does not cover dental and vision costs. Instead, students who want these services covered can opt into external plans that are University-run. Delta Dental costs students $391.23 a year, and DeltaCare, a more limited coverage plan, costs $188.50 for the year. The vision insurance plan costs $87.66 for students annually. 

Some, like first-year Bienen master’s student Rachel Côté, wish that NU-SHIP covered dental and vision insurance as well. 

“(Dental check-ups are) really important for your… dental health,” Côté said. “But it’s so expensive. It’s pretty frustrating.”

Low-income students have varied financial aid experiences  

Students who cannot afford to pay the full premium receive support from the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid. For McCormick sophomore Jasmyn Rieff, need-based financial aid covers the program’s enrollment fee.

Rieff said NU-SHIP covers her medical fees to a reasonable extent, as long as referrals are made through Northwestern Medicine. When she visited urgent care for a dislocated knee cap, she said she was still left with around $500 in remaining fees. 

“I had to go to urgent care because Searle (Hall) was apparently booked for the entire day,” Rieff said. “I think part of (why I still have to pay) is that I didn’t get a referral. They just told me verbally to go to urgent care.”

Rieff added she also pays smaller fees for individual services such as therapy. NU-SHIP covers mental health costs with…