Only a small percentage of University students have satisfied the requirements of a new University policy mandating that all returning students verify that they have health insurance.
Just 3,254 of the more than 17,000 affected students have registered their health insurance with Student Health as of yesterday, said Virginia Carter, director of external relations for student affairs.
The new policy stems from the worry that some students may not be insured, Director of Student Health James Turner said.
"There was a concern that a number of undergraduates do not have health insurance, so the University attempted to institute a new plan to verify this," Turner said.
The administration sought to publicize the new requirement by sending home a letter with student tuition bills as well as posting announcements in the weekly Connections e-mail sent out by the Vice President for Student Affairs' office.
Students who fail to provide verification of health insurance coverage by spring registration will be unable to sign up for classes next semester.
First-year students are not required to verify their health insurance coverage online as long as they successfully completed their pre-entrance medical forms.
Since 1969, the University has required all students have health insurance. Prior to this year, however, the University only verified students' coverage when they entered as first years or transfer students.
"We want to make sure that students don't incur catastrophic bills for healthcare," Carter said.
Some students said they had no knowledge of the new rule.
"I had no idea that this was a new requirement this year," third-year College student Katie Willis said. "I don't deal with paying my tuition and I was out of the country all summer, so I was left completely in the dark of this new development."
The administration plans to send out e-mails later in the semester to students who have yet to register.
At the end of last semester, the University announced that returning students must verify their health insurance when it also revealed that the University-sponsored health insurance provider, Chickering Group, would be increasing its premiums by nearly 34 percent -- to $1,600 a year beginning this year.
To verify health insurance coverage, students should log on the student health Web site, http://www.virginia.edu/studenthealth/, and click on the health insurance verification link.
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