Insurance Switch
Improvements Seen In Rutgers Student Insurance After Changing to Aetna
Aleksandra Nadolski, Observer Contributor
Issue date: 11/4/08 Section: News
The current plan in called Health Services Plus, and is the basic plan which is offered to all full time students. The Health Services Plus benefits include lab tests, referrals to other doctors as well as ER visits, up to $5,000 per year. Aetna offers additional insurance coverage at reasonable costs for up to $250,000.
All full-time students are charged for the insurance fee on their term bill, but can decline the fee if they have alternate insurance. The cost of the basic student insurance plan per semester is around $140. The insurance plan is also offered to part-time students.
Aetna however may have flaws as well. They are a type of Preferred Provider Organization insurance, which means that they pay participating in-network providers' fees in full. Reeding says that, "if it is out-of network they will pay a 100% of reasonable and customary charges," which sometimes will not be the full amount of the bill. Reasonable and customary charges are determined by zip codes, where doctors in New York will probably be paid more because of their higher costs, and doctors in rural Pennsylvania, for example, will be paid out less due to cheaper doctors.
This does not cause too much trouble for Rutgers students as most of the providers near Rutgers campuses participate with Aetna.
Costa recaps an experience at Saint Michael's Hospital under Aetna's plan. "I wanted to get into the hospital last May and all the hospital fees and doctors' fees were covered and I was never bothered about those."
Before the switch to Aetna, some unpaid bills were still left behind. Peters clarifies that, "With Saint Michaels what we were able to do in those situations, we worked with them and they were able to write the balance off. The thing is now it's simplified because they (Saint Michaels) do participate with Aetna and they accept the payment with Aetna as paid in full. So we do not have all that chasing around."
When asked about the performance of Aetna insurance coming into the second year of coverage Reeling responded, "I think they have been working very hard to meet our needs, but we do periodically review their performance and we work to improve the product and the service, so I think that they are doing a good job, so far. I think they can do better; there are some areas they can improve."
All full-time students are charged for the insurance fee on their term bill, but can decline the fee if they have alternate insurance. The cost of the basic student insurance plan per semester is around $140. The insurance plan is also offered to part-time students.
Aetna however may have flaws as well. They are a type of Preferred Provider Organization insurance, which means that they pay participating in-network providers' fees in full. Reeding says that, "if it is out-of network they will pay a 100% of reasonable and customary charges," which sometimes will not be the full amount of the bill. Reasonable and customary charges are determined by zip codes, where doctors in New York will probably be paid more because of their higher costs, and doctors in rural Pennsylvania, for example, will be paid out less due to cheaper doctors.
This does not cause too much trouble for Rutgers students as most of the providers near Rutgers campuses participate with Aetna.
Costa recaps an experience at Saint Michael's Hospital under Aetna's plan. "I wanted to get into the hospital last May and all the hospital fees and doctors' fees were covered and I was never bothered about those."
Before the switch to Aetna, some unpaid bills were still left behind. Peters clarifies that, "With Saint Michaels what we were able to do in those situations, we worked with them and they were able to write the balance off. The thing is now it's simplified because they (Saint Michaels) do participate with Aetna and they accept the payment with Aetna as paid in full. So we do not have all that chasing around."
When asked about the performance of Aetna insurance coming into the second year of coverage Reeling responded, "I think they have been working very hard to meet our needs, but we do periodically review their performance and we work to improve the product and the service, so I think that they are doing a good job, so far. I think they can do better; there are some areas they can improve."
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