By Jessie Fillingim
For many University students, college provides the first opportunity to have unrestricted sexual encounters. In an environment of sexual exploration and newfound freedom, there is a high risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. To combat this risk, the University should take a wide-ranging prevention approach through educational programs, health insurance and women’s health services.
Maureen Houck, director of the University’s Health and Wellness Center, explains that lack of funding keeps the Wellness Center from reaching its full potential as an educator on campus. “I would like to be able to do more student outreach,” says Houck, who notes that one of the objectives of the Wellness Center, as a University program, is to educate.
Students coming to the University from high schools that teach abstinence-only education may find themselves especially at risk of becoming pregnant or contracting an STI. The Wellness center provides plenty of cheesy literature on sexual health, but students should not have to seek out this information. Successful education does not simply make literature available to students; it personally delivers information. To ensure sexual health on campus, the university must target incoming students with sexual education programs.
New students, unfamiliar with the frustrating nature of the health care industry, may find that they now must make critical decisions about health insurance. Houke estimates that while 92 percent of undergraduate University students are covered under their parent’s health insurance, most graduate students are uninsured.
Graduate students who are too old to be covered under their parents insurance and the 8 percent of undergraduate students who are uninsured may opt to purchase the health insurance plan that the University offers. However, Houke says that very few students choose to purchase the University’s plan. This is likely because of the limited coverage provided by the plan. “I would like to see a more robust student insurance plan,” Houke remarks.
Some University students may be insured and not even know it. All full-time students are automatically covered under the University’s “Plan A” insurance, which provides basic accident medical expense benefits and accidental death and dismemberment benefits. Students living on campus are automatically enrolled in the University’s “Plan B” insurance, which provides basic sickness and medical expense benefits, up to $2500 per sickness. In addition, Plan B insurance also covers the charges for a voluntary abortion up to $150. With the cost of an abortion ranges from $350-500, using student insurance to cover abortion services will ease part of the financial burden.
The best way to avoid the financial, emotional and physical distress of an abortion is through preventing pregnancy. The Wellness Center offers a limited amount of Loestren 24, a birth control pill that shortens periods, for free. Houke explains that due to changes in federal law, drug companies no longer get tax benefits from donating medication to on-campus health centers but expects this to change as of fall 2009. If these tax benefits are reinstated, more varieties and greater quantities of birth control will be available from the Wellness Center.
When it is too late for birth control, the preferred solution to the broken condom dilemma is emergency contraceptive: the “morning after” pill. The pill is available at the Wellness Center and costs less than getting it straight from a pharmacist. However, students may be discouraged from seeking emergency contraceptive from the Wellness Center because of the lack of privacy in the cramped waiting room. Houke admits she is concerned about privacy and wishes the Wellness Center had enough funding to create a triage section.
If the pregnant student missed her chance for emergency contraception, she may have to wait to find out what other options she has available. The Wellness Center requires a $20 cash or check deposit that must be made in-person in order to secure an appointment with a nurse practitioner certified in women’s health. Appointments for women’s health services are only available on Monday and Thursday. The pregnant student who wants immediate medical attention or who is concerned with privacy may prefer to hike the mile to Hempstead’s Planned Parenthood rather than visit the Wellness Center. This should not be so.
Lack of funding and resources at a medical center not only compromises the ability to provide adequate medical treatment, but also diminishes the level of privacy afforded its patients. The Wellness Center’s ability to provide expansive health services with so little funding is impressive, but students should not expect the same quality they would find with other healthcare providers.
Jessie Fillingim is a second-year law student. You may e-mail her at [email protected].
