As a way to sustain the facility and also to provide more benefits to its patients, Saint Xavier University’s Health Center decided to begin billing patients’ insurance carriers for all health visits. This change in policy became effective August 12, 2013.
Committed to providing excellent health care to the SXU community, the Health Center provides a variety of services to its patients. Providing relief for minor injuries or illnesses, conducting school and sports physicals, administering immunizations, and promoting health education; these are just a few of the many services that the facility provides.
However, financial issues posed a threat in keeping the facility open at the university. Because of this, SXU began to seek ways in which the Health Center would be able to meet its operating costs; billing patients’ insurance companies became the best possible solution to the problem.
According to Kathryn Tibbits, the Director of Clinical Services at SXU and a family nurse practitioner at the Health Center, the university had two ways in which it could have solved the impending dilemma: one way was to significantly increase the health fee for every student and the other was to begin billing insurances. SXU decided on the latter.
“The university decided that that was the best way to go for a number of reasons. This way, only students who use the services of the Health Center will pay for those services. Instead of increasing the fees for every single student – even for a student who may never even use our services here – we’ll only be billing the insurance of the student who actually comes here and gets services at the Health Center,” said Tibbits.
Since students at SXU are already required to be insured by a health insurance, the new change at the Health Center should not have a drastic effect on them; instead, the change may actually make more services available.
“Students can take advantage of the benefits that they’re entitled to rather than paying out of pocket for some things or the Health Center not getting reimbursed on other things. So, it kind of makes it more consistent,” Tibbits said.
Kathleen Rohan, the Director of the Center for Nursing Innovation, also expressed her opinion on the new policy. “It seemed to make more sense to bill the insurance since everybody already has insurance and they’re already paying for that. Rather than raising fees to everyone or raising tuition, by billing insurance, we could take advantage of a benefit that’s already there,” said Rohan.
Insurances that the university has approved as valid and comprehensive will be accepted at the Health Center; this includes PPOs, HMOs, and Medicaid. If a student requires a physical or immunizations, there may be different fees involved depending on their insurance carrier. Students should call the HC with any questions.
Because of the recent change, Rohan discussed a few things that students have to bring to the Health Center when coming for a visit.
“Students have to bring a picture ID – which could be their Cougar Card – and their insurance card. We do ask for any co-payments that may be due, but we will not deny anyone services if they don’t have the co-payment; they could drop it off later, or we could bill the student’s account. We don’t want anyone to not seek care because they don’t have the co-payment that day – that’s not what it’s about,” Rohan said.
All students are guaranteed services at the Health Center. Even if a student does not come with his or her co-payment or insurance card, he or she will still receive medical attention. The student would simply be billed for one’s visit and would be expected to repay whenever he or she could. This billing system is not linked to students’ Bursar’s account. Payment plans are also available to any students who may need help in paying their co-payment.
“We don’t want anybody to be discouraged from coming here if they need services. Their health is our primary concern and that’s why we’re here. It’s for their convenience and service,” said Rohan.
Regarding the various benefits that this new policy will have on the SXU community, Tibbits remarked on which she believes to be the biggest one.
“I think that one of the biggest positive things is that we’ll be able to stay open. Our major mission here is to provide health care for the students of Saint Xavier and we really want to continue doing that and promoting wellness and helping with illness. Our priority is still the students here and so we still want to see them. We’re just trying to make sure that we’re here for a long time,” Tibbits said.
The Health Center is located near parking lot 4 of the university and is opened Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Students are highly encouraged to make an appointment before coming in for a visit. One may schedule an appointment by contacting the facility at 773-298-3712.
Macy Zamudio
Senior News Editor