Health officials want college student data

Researching costs beyond insurance

Amid an outcry by college students that school health insurance is skimpy, state regulators yesterday proposed that colleges start tracking how many students rack up annual medical bills beyond what their policies cover.

Under the proposal, colleges would be required to report to state regulators information such as the number of times insurers refuse to pay for student injuries or illnesses; the number of grievances students file against the companies; and the percentage of profits the companies apply toward students' medical services.

Regulators said the proposal, expected to be adopted after a public hearing next month, would be a first step as they consider whether to make insurers offer student plans that provide more generous benefits.

The moves follow reports in Massachusetts and across the country that an increasing number of students and their families are saddled with enormous medical bills after accidents or serious injuries because the policies marketed to students provide limited coverage, compared with standard insurance products.

"It doesn't make sense for students to be treated differently," said Tufts senior Dena Greenblum, a member of the Student Health Organizing Coalition, which has pushed for more comprehensive coverage.

State regulations require college students to have health insurance but allow insurers to substantially limit coverage, even if it fails to meet the minimum standards set for other plans as part of the state's 2006 near-universal health law.

Although students are free to buy more-expensive policies, roughly 77,800 students are covered by plans that cap payments at $50,000 a year per injury or illness. That limit can easily be exceeded after a serious accident.

Student health "is a 20-year-old program that is ripe for review," said Sarah Iselin, commissioner of the state's Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, the agency that regulates student health insurance and proposed the new rules.

Kay Lazar can be reached at klazar@globe.com.