Students, health center reps discuss fee recommendation

By Erica Zucco

Published Feb. 29, 2008

A meeting between MU students and Student Health Center staff sparked discussion concerning next year’s student health fee and the possibility of increased charges for student services.

Representatives from the Student Health Center, Student Fee Review Committee Chairwoman Marjorie Matzes-Thies, the Missouri Students Association Budget Committee and MSA Senate Speaker Jonathan Mays met Wednesday to discuss the proposed and actual Fiscal Year 2007 budgets and health center policies as a part of the process toward the formation of SFRC’s recommendation for the 2008 student health fee.

Discrepancies between MSA’s actual recommendation for the health center’s fee increase and what was reported to the UM system Board of Curators date back to January. As stated in a previous Maneater report, the document sent to the board’s Finance and Audit Committee recommended a 4.1 percent fee increase of $3.66 per student and stated: “The Student Fee Review Committee and the MSA Senate support these proposals.” But an MSA Senate resolution passed on Nov. 28 states that SFRC supported a student fee increase of only $2.32.

Freshman MSA Budget Committee member Seth Botts said as a result of the meeting, SFRC decided that although the rate of inflation for medical care is increasing at an alarming rate, students should not face an 11 percent yearly increase in their student health fee.

“We haven’t decided exactly how to make it all work, but SFRC is ready to work with the Student Health Center to find ways to keep the fee down and have charges still be economically feasible for students,” Botts said.

Mays said the fee recommendation is due by Tuesday, when it will be put before MSA Senate. Mays moved the March 12 meeting up to March 5 so Senate could consider recommendation in time for the Board of Curators’ next meeting.

Key issues discussed were student satisfaction with the center, meeting the campus’ need for mental health professionals and the role of alternative funding in the center’s operation.

Student Health Center Director Susan Even explained that the fee requested by the center was not intended to facilitate additional services or programs, but to maintain the system already in place.

“We do plan to expand upon our services in terms of drug intervention and sexual assault therapy, but do not intend to add new positions to do so,” Even said. “The responsibilities would be added onto a position already in place.”

The group discussed grants as an ineffective way of substantially improving the center’s economic situation.

“If you start getting money from other places and their priorities aren’t as consistent with what the campus needs, that becomes an issue,” Even said.

The main changes the center will make to avoid increasing the student fee will increase payments for individuals who frequently visit the center.

“After next year, we’ll charge a little more for what we already charge for — throat cultures, for example — and will look at procedures such as wart treatments that we never used to charge for, and those will no longer be included,” Even said. “Also, we will probably no longer cover any labs by the health fee.”

The group discussed the possibility of charging co-pay for any student visit. In any case, center Manager Ann Nadler said the changes would not charge the general population as much as the users.

“We do hope, though, that the extra charges won’t detract students from coming when they need to,” Nadler said.