At the start of this academic year, the Schacht Center for Health and Wellness enacted two notable changes for those who have health insurance provided through the college. Currently, 40% of students purchase the Smith College Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), which provides full coverage for a variety of medical services, including hospital, emergency room and specialist visits.
Because health insurance is mandatory in the state of Massachusetts, students enrolled in 25 credits or more at Smith are automatically enrolled in SHIP; however, many students choose to waive this option in favor of a private health insurance plan of comparable coverage.
The insurance also covers preventative care services such as physical examinations, screenings, GYN exams, most immunization procedures and inpatient and outpatient mental health services. All of these costs are covered when the holder uses in-network providers—that is, providers or health care services which have a negotiated discount with the insurance company. Out-of-network providers may require costs paid out-of-pocket which are not necessarily covered by SHIP.
The deductible for SHIP, or the cost that must be paid by the insurance holder to activate coverage each year, is $150. According to the director of the Schacht Center for Health and Wellness, Pamela McCarthy, this is “relatively low” for an insurance deductible. For example, the Amherst College Student Blue Plan, a similar insurance plan available to Amherst College students, has a deductible of $300 per year, which is only activated if the student uses an out-of-network service.
The first major change is that the Schacht Health and Wellness Center ceded control of their labs to Cooley-Dickinson Hospital of Northampton. The hospital is part of a larger conglomerate of Massachusetts healthcare facilities and is a Massachusetts General Hospital Affiliate. A person covered by SHIP can be referred to the lab for services like bloodwork, urine testing, and pregnancy and STI testing. There is no co-pay for using the lab, but if the deductible for SHIP has yet to be paid for use in outpatient services, there is a $150 one-time payment required for those getting lab-work. Although the deductible rate has not risen, this change is significant because the Schacht Center’s decision to cede control of the lab to Cooley-Dickinson triggers the deductible payment for anyone who receives lab-work. In years prior, however, the lab and lab procedures were run by Smith’s Schacht Center; therefore, lab use did not trigger the required deductible payment.
There is a second recent notable change for SHIP holders– the $10 copay traditionally required for outpatient treatment in therapy and psychiatry was dropped. This copay posed financial limitations, and a barrier for care for students seeking weekly therapy or psychiatry appointments, because the $10 cost was charged each week. Medical visits to physical health care specialists still require a copay, in the assumption that specialist visits are more infrequent than typical modes of treatment for mental health.
This change in mental health and counseling services is part of a recent Smith initiative focused on improving the way the college addresses mental health issues. Smith President McCarthy also said that the change is meant to improve “how mental health services are delivered and making sure people have access to them.”
Largely a result of student demand, Smith has recently made efforts to engage in a more comprehensive mental health program and treatment facility. In Fall 2017, Smith joined JED Campus, a part of the JED foundation. The JED Campus is designed to guide schools through a collaborative process of policy and program development to support services for student mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention. Additional funds have also been allocated by Smith President Kathleen McCartney to counseling services to hire more therapists and counselors.
