CU’s health center offers services other Big 12 conference schools do not
Compared to other health centers in the Big 12 conference, Wardenburg proves to be a serious competitor in providing their “Student Gold” insurance or “Campus Care” options for CU students.
When compared to other Big 12 schools’ health centers, Wardenberg came out on top.
“We have a lot of services other Big 12 schools don’t provide. For instance, only one other campus (Nebraska) in the Big 12 has a dental clinic, and we are above average in our number in care providers,” said Alissa Baumbach, Wardenburg Health Center’s assistant to the director.
CU also stands out in its outreach programs in community health.
Texas Tech, for instance, has modeled a program for students coping with alcohol addictions and substance abuse after Wardenburg’s “Center for Students in Recovery.”
However, other campuses in the Big 12 are not the only ones to copycat. Wardenburg is pushing to implement electronic medical records to match Baylor, Nebraska and Iowa State’s technological advancements in the past couple years. These electronic medical records will offer a way for providers or caregivers to have instant access to complete information about the student.
“(The electronic records) will also let us pull data to gain a better picture of the CU campus as a whole; we won’t have to wait for charts to come,” Baumbach said.
The acquisition of electronic medical records may be difficult to swing for Wardenburg considering the average semester fee among students in the Big 12 is $79 per student per semester, and student fees allocated to CU’s Health Center total $63 per student per semester.
In addition, Baumbach’s charts indicate that CU has the third highest enrollment behind Texas Tech and Texas A&M, but had the second highest patient visits by students (54 percent), trailing the two Texas’ with a combined patient visit of 61 percent.
Wardenburg also had the highest health education activity by nearly 20,000 students and over double the amount of self-generated revenue even though Wardenburg is the only health facility in the Big 12 that doesn’t collect revenues from their pharmacies.
Wardenburg does not only differ from care plans and fiscal allocations in the Big 12, but also from in-state institutions like CSU and UNC.
CSU has the Student Accident and Sickness Plan, which covers about 10 to 12 percent of their campus, said Stella Anderson, student insurance manager/media relations spokesperson.
CU students, on the other hand, have the choice to opt for the Campus Care plan, which is $150 per semester for students or the Student Gold insurance plan. It insures students for care in and outside of Wardenburg for $875 per semester.
For students attending CSU in the fall, general health care, not to be confused with health care insurance, costs around $855 per semester for students. The cost is $944 per semester for students in the spring because summer coverage is included in the spring semester. Wardenburg on the other hand, does not charge for summer care.
Programs also exist at CSU like “Ask Pat,” which is an anonymous, online opportunity for students to ask various medical questions that “Pat” responds to, “Walk for Wellness” and safe-travel information to avoid health problems abroad.
Although health insurance is mandatory at CU, the CSU and UNC campuses are not required by law to have student health insurance.
According to Vicki Mossman, manager of student health services at UNC, it is not necessary to be insured under UNC’s Student Health Insurance in order to receive the center’s services. However, the care center only insures students enrolled in nine or more credit hours.
Neither CSU or UNC have both insurance and regular care plans, and the choice is an expensive alternative between having care and going without. Wardenberg gives students a variety of care options, payment plans, knowledge towards health awareness and overall student care for the least amount of money throughout the Big 12 and in comparison to CSU and UNC.
Contact Campus Press Staffwriter Victoria Barbatelli at victoria.barbatelli@thecampuspress.com.
