In the wake of the House of Representatives' narrow approval of a health care bill that Democratic leaders believe will extend coverage to 36 million previously uninsured Americans, several College and health policy experts told The Dartmouth that, although the bill would extend coverage to recently graduated students, the legislation is unlikely to have an immediate impact on health care coverage for undergraduate students at the College.
The Affordable Health Care for America Act which will cost the federal government $1.1 trillion to implement is aimed to help struggling Americans obtain affordable and adequate health care benefits, The New York Times reported on Nov. 7. The Senate is expected to draft several minor revisions to the bill.
Under the bill approved by the House, students could remain listed as dependents on their parent's insurance plans until the age of 26. Under current law, students may only retain that coverage until their graduation from an undergraduate institution.
"This is terrific news for graduating students," said Jeffrey Wasserman, a senior policy researcher at RAND corporation, non-profit global policy think tank.
The bill would offer more security for graduates who are no longer under the their college's health plan, Wasserman said.
"When students leave Dartmouth, if they end up being an actor in New York, doing something else with a small business that fails, or other entrepreneurial activity, and didn't have insurance, this still provides more protection for those folks," economics professor Charles Wheelan said.
Despite these benefits, however, in the long run the legislation would lead to significant costs for today's students, Wheelan said.
"Students are worse off in the long run because they will have to pay for it," Wheelan said. "Health care costs are growing fast the bill will try to restrain that, but I don't think will, and as a result, as tax payers, [current students] will bear the burden in the future of health care spending."
Current students at the College, meanwhile, would likely see minimal changes to their undergraduate health plans in the short run if the bill was passed, according to Dr. Jack Turco, director of Dartmouth's Health Services.
Coverage plans for Dartmouth students who are required to be under the College's health plan or an independent that adheres to certain College criteria will not likely be unaffected if the bill is passed, Turco said. The only change undergraduate students might experience would be a slight adjustment in their insurance premium, the amount of money policyholders must pay for coverage, Turco said.
The primary drafts of the bill aimed to create standards that would eliminate faulty college health plans, Turco said, noting that 60 to 80 percent of colleges nationwide do not offer health plans that measure up to the new national standards.
Dartmouth's plan, however, already exceeds the criteria set up by the new legislation, Turco said, as do those plans accepted by the College from outside vendors. Any changes in the national law will therefore not affect the requirements that Dartmouth sets for student coverage, he said.
"I'm convinced we work hard to offer a good plan," Turco said. "Even if you don't have our plan, then you have a good plan, because we don't waive plans that don't have certain levels of protection."
Dartmouth's student health plan meets the new bill's standards by "a substantial margin," said Gordon Taylor, associate dean and executive officer in the Dean of the College's office. Taylor, who also serves as the executive officer of the DSGHP Advisory Committee, said that any plans that meet those standards will be preserved under the new legislation.
Several students interviewed by The Dartmouth said they are generally optimistic about the bill's implications on the future of health care.
"In my opinion, this bill is the first step into reforming our system to best serve patients and create a system where health care professionals have the best incentives and supports to do serve patients interests and needs," Elizabeth Richey DMS '13 said.
Richey said that medical students would also be able to benefit directly from the health care reform.
"The final bill will likely include funding for expanded primary care training programs and potentially loan forgiveness for medical students," Richey said. "Medical student debt is an important concern for medical students and financial concerns may deter some of those interested in primary care."
Richey is one of four Dartmouth Medical School students organizing an awareness vigil for the bill this week in order to encourage Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. to vote for the health care reform.
If passed, the new legislation would be implemented by 2012, Wasserman said.
