U of R Gets Go Ahead on Student Health Insurance

The University of Rochester is one of four universities in the state allowed to provide health insurance to its students.

Institutions in the state cannot self-fund a student health plan without a license to operate as an insurer. The new pilot program signed by the governor waives that requirement.

Dr. Ralph Manchester, director of the University Health Service, says being able to make health benefits directly available to students lowers administrative and risk costs, "We think based on experience with self-insured plans at schools in other states and the experience in New York State with employers that have already been able to offer self-insured plans that it would result in lower health care costs to the student."

Manchester says premiums for this academic year are nearly $2,000. He says the university is in the process of analyzing how much that cost would change.

Manchester says costs could remain the same going against the overall trend of increasing health care costs.

The new rule takes effect in the 2013-2014 academic school year. Columbia, Cornell and New York University are among the eligible schools to insure students at a lower rate.