SHOC: A History

The Student Health Organizing Coalition (SHOC) is a student-run organization that is devoted to reforming the student health system in Massachusetts. SHOC was founded in September of 2008 at Tufts University, comprised of four charter members. Since that time, Tufts’ SHOC chapter has grown to sixteen members and has expanded to Brandeis University.

SHOC has reviewed nearly all university health insurance plans across Massachusetts for the 2008-2009 school years. In addition, members of SHOC have met with many students who have had poor experiences dealing with student health insurance plans at several schools, including but not limited to UMass Boston, UMass Amherst, Tufts, Brandeis, Simmons, and Emerson. Based on both these stories and the current state of the student health insurance system, SHOC has outlined three types of problems with student health insurance in Massachusetts.

1) High Costs, Poor Coverage – While premiums and deductibles are comparatively low for student health plans, the hidden costs to use such plans can be exorbitant. Nearly all plans have low per-service caps ($1,500), 20% co-insurance rates with no out-of-pocket limits, the exclusion of preventative care, or prescription drug benefits.
2) Questionable Insurer and Broker Practices – Most students will have their first experience with navigating health insurance in college with their student plan. Customer service by insurance carriers and brokers is inconsistent, and students are not offered clear and transparent information about their plans.
3) Education vs. Health – The current health insurance mandate for students requires students to purchase health insurance in order to attend college within the Commonwealth. While the rest of Massachusetts residents have a similar mandate, they are offered subsidized plans if they cannot afford comprehensive insurance. Students are specifically excluded from these state subsidized plans, even if they are Massachusetts residents and are income eligible. For these students, the choice often comes down to paying for their education or paying for their health, with the combination being unaffordable.

Currently, the Massachusetts government is taking two actions which may be the beginning of substantial reform. First, the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, a Massachusetts state agency, is currently collecting information on student health plans, such as the cost of premiums, the number of students who exceed their caps, and excluded services. The second step being taken is in the form of a bill put forth recently by State Senator Moore, which is currently assigned to the Committee on Higher Education.

Regardless of the results of these two actions, any substantial reform to student health insurance that gives both affordable and comprehensive coverage to students must embody the following principles:

- Eliminate all maximum caps on insurance company payments.
- Expand coverage to include necessary benefits such as prescription medications and preventative care
- Create an out-of-pocket maximum for all students
- Allow eligible students to enroll in Commonwealth Care (state-subsidized program)
- Set standards for insurance carriers and broker practices, and monitor their compliance
- Allow substantive student input into plan selection and require plans to offer transparent and clear information.

These are the principles for which SHOC will fight in any reform to the student health insurance system.

If you have ever had poor experience with student health insurance or are interested in being a part of SHOC, please contact me, Aaron Marden, at aaron.marden@gmail.com.

- Aaron Marden