The request comes amid continued scrutiny of student health plans — including an ongoing investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who said in April that some of the plans leave students "at risk while providing massive profits for insurance companies."
His investigation found that policies offered to New York students were inexpensive, ranging from as little as $100 a school year to more than $2,500. But the benefits also vary widely, with some capping annual coverage at $25,000 a year or setting per-illness caps as low as $700.
"Buying these kinds of low-quality products with low premiums enables colleges" to keep down students' costs. "But the problem is the protection provided students under the plans isn't sufficient," says Mark Rukavina of the Access Project, an advocacy group in Boston that has studied student health plans. "If you are a student who needs care, given the caps on benefits, you are in trouble."
More than half of colleges nationwide offer student insurance plans, according to a March 2008 study by the Government Accountability Office. While 80 percent of college students were insured, often through their parents' coverage, only 7 percent bought their own policies or purchased one of the school-based plans, according to the GAO.