By Dessa Bayrock (Contributor) – Email
Date Posted: October 7, 2011
Print Edition: October 5, 2011
Many students balk at shelling out an extra $150 health and dental fee on top of tuition, but not all of them are aware that if they already have coverage, they have the option of opting out of the UFV plan. This year, the SUS tried harder than ever to let students know that it’s possible to save that $150, despite having only a short period to build awareness: the opt out period only lasted from August 29th to September 20th.
The first line of defence for the SUS was posters – bright blue and white ads were posted in nearly every hallway, and covered select bulletin boards in parts of the school. Bold fonts vied for attention: are you covered? Do you want to be covered? Do you know what it means to be covered?
The SUS has a set of offices in C building, and during office hours there is always someone around that can answer questions or address concerns if a student wants to wander in and talk to someone. But let’s face it: for many students, C building isn’t really on the way to anything, and some students are trying to remember too many things already. The SUS recognized this, and consequently made the attempt to get right in the students’ line of sight. Clearly marked information tables were set up in the main lobby and in other locations around the school so students on the way to class or in line to pay fees could wander up and figure out just what, exactly, the deal was.
And what, exactly, is the deal? Well, in short, if students have another health and dental plan through, say, their parents or place of employment, they have the option of spending around twenty minutes online to upload documentation and opt out of the SUS plan, or they can go to the SUS offices to opt out in person. If a student isn’t covered by another plan, opting out isn’t possible.
The health and dental plan covers up to 90 per cent of regular dentist visits, and up to 70 per cent of most prescriptions. In short, by making the UFV health plan or else proof of some other coverage mandatory, the SUS is trying to make sure that students are never financially strained when it comes to getting their cavities fixed and meds refilled.
In addition to online submission, the SUS saw about 500 people come into their offices to opt out in person, which is generally a quicker process.
If you are covered by another program and forgot to opt out this year or didn’t know you could, the SUS recommends that you use your two plans in conjunction with each other – they can work together so even more of your health and dental expenses are covered.
All in all, the SUS considers this year’s amped-up awareness campaign a success – far less students have been in to ask about the program after the change of coverage period ended, and students in general seemed to be less confused about the whole thing. Thanks to the time and effort of the SUS, volunteers, and some UFV employees, the information was more readily available and easier to understand.
