Cornell expands health care access for New York students

Cornell is expanding access to health care for its students with a comprehensive health insurance plan available to students enrolled in New York State Medicaid.

A successful pilot program specifically designed for Cornell students received approval to be an ongoing program from the New York State Department of Health (DOH) in April.

Cornell’s Student Health Plan – Medicaid (SHP-M) – the first of its kind in the state and the third in the U.S. – expands the options for students to receive medical treatment from providers outside of their home counties. The coverage is portable, so students have access to services whether they are on campus, at home or traveling.

In 2013, health services staff worked with the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment (FASE) and Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI) to identify the need on campus, said Valerie Lyon, MHA ’91, Gannett Health Services associate director for business and finance.

With passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, “part of the plan was to increase the eligibility level for Medicaid,” Lyon said.

“New York state was actually well ahead of the game and being proactive in trying to get as many people insured as possible,” she said. “We saw that coming, and for students coming to Ithaca where there are very few participating providers for Medicaid, as a health care provider we were very concerned about access to care.”

Lyon, along with Zoe Nelson and Charles Kruzansky in Cornell’s government relations office in Albany, met with officials at the DOH in fall 2013 to propose a pilot program. “We told the story, identified these students, provided information from the health center point of view, and pitched it as a possible win-win,” Lyon said.

With DOH approval, the first year of the pilot in 2014-15 saw 220 undergraduate students insured on the plan. A follow-up survey showed 83 percent were satisfied with their decision to enroll.

“We learned a lot, and we demonstrated savings for the state, so they agreed to a second year,” Lyon said. In 2015-16, 340 students participated, and the plan included eligible students in the professional colleges (Veterinary Medicine, Law School and Johnson) and some master’s students, such as Sloan Program students, she said.

In the third year, the plan will include all eligible Cornell students including self-pay master’s students.

“This is a beautifully creative solution using existing resources and expanding on what the state offers,” said Gretchen Ryan ’97, associate director in FASE. “The university requires health insurance, and there’s this opportunity for New York state residents who are Medicaid eligible, to have insurance for free. It reduces the student debt burden greatly. Students take loans for a variety of reasons, and paying for health insurance is a pretty common reason.”

The plan effectively “removes some of those financial barriers students had in access to health care,” said William Horning, director of student opportunity programs in OADI. “For some students, even a $20 or $25 copay can be a barrier. I had a couple students that needed eyeglasses for a long time, and with SHP-M they were able to afford it.”

Horning said 50 percent (92 students) of the 184 undergraduates enrolled at Cornell through state educational opportunity programs have used the plan. “I think it’s been a great benefit for them,” he said.

Thanks to the program, the state has saved an estimated $120,000 the first year and $250,000 the second year. While only a fraction of the overall state budget, “It’s savings, but it’s also people. It’s really beneficial to our students,” said Nelson, associate director for state relations. “There are good savings, and if the program were to grow at other schools, there would be more savings.

“We brought a really good idea to the DOH, and really have to commend them for seeing the benefit to our students and doing the work to implement such an important program,” Nelson said.

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John Carberry