Spring Break
Health care available for students
Marwa Younis
Issue date: 9/4/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Health care is not cheap. Fortunately, at the UMKC Student Health and Wellness center, vaccines and care cost the same amount for students as they do for the clinic.
The center provides everything from immunizations to regular physical checkups. There are registered nurses and practitioners, a pharmacist and a health educator at the center to give students the care and assistance they need for a cheaper price.
Students pay a mandatory health fee of $3.74 per credit hour that is included in tuition. A student taking 12 credit hours pays more than $40 per semester for the center.
"It's a convenient and pretty full service and I think one of our advantages is we have a good understanding of college students," said Sandra Handley, nurse practitioner and administrator of the Student Health and Wellness Center.
There is also a pharmacy where students can get their center-prescribed medicine. The pharmacy carries a variety of medications that can be billed to students' UMKC accounts. There is no visit fee at the center and students do not need insurance to be seen.
Although most medications are available at lower prices, there are some that are not as cheap. The university's health insurance policy has used national carrier The Chickering Group, an Aetna company, as the insurer for the program for the last two years. Because the university uses them, they are considered preferred providers.
This policy covers visits to the doctor's office or emergency room, but there is a co-pay of $25 with the referral of the Student Health and Wellness Center. Without this referral the co-pay becomes $50. Prescription medications are included.
According to this plan, if students take their prescriptions to a non-preferred pharmacy, they must pay the full cost.
There will be a presentation by Bill Smith, health educator, at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, and at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, in Room 161 at the University Center.
The presentation will give an overview of services provided, how to access them, what the student health fee is and what it covers, how to use the student pharmacy and an overview of the health insurance offered by the university. For more information, contact (816) 235-5350.
The Student Health and Wellness Center is open seven days a week, (until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). They are located in room 115 at 4825 Troost Ave. Students are seen by appointment only.
myounis@unews.com
The center provides everything from immunizations to regular physical checkups. There are registered nurses and practitioners, a pharmacist and a health educator at the center to give students the care and assistance they need for a cheaper price.
Students pay a mandatory health fee of $3.74 per credit hour that is included in tuition. A student taking 12 credit hours pays more than $40 per semester for the center.
"It's a convenient and pretty full service and I think one of our advantages is we have a good understanding of college students," said Sandra Handley, nurse practitioner and administrator of the Student Health and Wellness Center.
There is also a pharmacy where students can get their center-prescribed medicine. The pharmacy carries a variety of medications that can be billed to students' UMKC accounts. There is no visit fee at the center and students do not need insurance to be seen.
Although most medications are available at lower prices, there are some that are not as cheap. The university's health insurance policy has used national carrier The Chickering Group, an Aetna company, as the insurer for the program for the last two years. Because the university uses them, they are considered preferred providers.
This policy covers visits to the doctor's office or emergency room, but there is a co-pay of $25 with the referral of the Student Health and Wellness Center. Without this referral the co-pay becomes $50. Prescription medications are included.
According to this plan, if students take their prescriptions to a non-preferred pharmacy, they must pay the full cost.
There will be a presentation by Bill Smith, health educator, at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, and at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, in Room 161 at the University Center.
The presentation will give an overview of services provided, how to access them, what the student health fee is and what it covers, how to use the student pharmacy and an overview of the health insurance offered by the university. For more information, contact (816) 235-5350.
The Student Health and Wellness Center is open seven days a week, (until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). They are located in room 115 at 4825 Troost Ave. Students are seen by appointment only.
myounis@unews.com
Be the first to comment on this story