Worries About Delayed Rules on Student Insurance

The American Council on Education and other higher education groups on Friday wrote to the Department of Health and Human Services to urge the agency to move ahead with final rules on student health insurance coverage. The letter noted that it has been more than a year since the proposed rules were first issued. Friday's letter does not focus on the substance of the proposed rules, but on the impact of the delay in the final rules. "Many colleges and universities currently are negotiating contracts with insurers for their student health insurance coverage in the coming academic year," says the letter. "The final ... regulations will affect the terms and cost of such coverage. In some instances it appears insurers are using the uncertainty about the final contours of those regulations to their benefit, proposing increased premiums beyond what may be warranted under the final rules. In the absence of final regulations, it is difficult for schools to complete negotiations with their issuers." Further, the letter says that colleges are trying to determine financial aid packages for students for 2012-13 and changes in health insurance rules could affect various awards.