I hate to waste money. Accordingly, when it comes to personal spending I try carefully to gauge the necessity of the expenditure at hand. I don't have much discretion, however, over educational expenses. Brown sets the prices and students have to pay to attend.
There is one service in particular that doesn't benefit a number of students, but carries a compulsory financial toll - the Health Services fee. There is no reason the fee should be mandatory.
Health Services charges each student $313 a semester to cover its operational costs (which include the salaries of the deans in the Office of Student Life, among other things).
For this price, students are entitled to limitless "medical services" (primary care, dermatology, emergency care, etc.), Health Education and up to five visits to the counseling staff at Psychological Services. In addition to the fee, every Brown student is required to have health insurance (through Brown or otherwise), which generally pays for any services not covered by the fee (tests, prescriptions, inoculations, etc.).
Many would argue that ensuring easy access to health care is worth a meager $313 per semester, but what good is University health care to those of us who don't exploit it?
For example, I've never gone to Health Services or directly benefited from it in any way, and I would imagine a number of other students are in the same position. I'm sure plenty of students get their bang for their buck from Health Services, but it's rather presumptuous to deem the fee a necessary expense for all students.
The Health Services fee is especially unfair to those students who have opted out of the default Student Health Insurance Plan. Outside insurance gives students access to go to practicing, in-network doctors whom they may prefer for a variety of reasons, rendering Health Services extraneous.
Granted, it is possible to waive the Health Services fee if you are a non-degree-seeking student or have enrolled in absentia. But these criteria apply to very few students. And even if you get a waiver, you'll have to pay the full fee if you ever visit Health Services - a steep price for students who didn't plan to use Health Services in the first place. This seems like a greedy policy, much as I hate to question the University's motivations.
How can Health Services remedy the situation? Instead of forcing everyone to pay the fee, Brown could make it optional. Brown could also set up a system under which students only pay for the services they receive. This system would save money for those who rarely or never use Health Services, regardless of insurance type, while still earning enough operational revenue.
Some might worry that Health Services would not be able to run at its current capacity if students could waive the fee. They're right. But that may just mean that the fee artificially inflates demand for University-provided medical care.
Even if everyone waived his or her fee, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Health Services would have to set the prices in line with costs. That's how it's done in the real world, and I don't see why it should be any different at Brown.
Granted, if everyone waived the fee, the price per service might increase, but I doubt the total would exceed $313 for most students in a semester. Many would save money by spending less.
Furthermore, it seems the ultimate appeal of Health Services is its convenience, and so it is unlikely that all students will forego the Health Services fee anyway. In fact, I imagine most students wouldn't choose to waive the fee, not only for convenience's sake, but also because many students might be willing to pay $313 for limitless, quality medical care.
Of course, $313 is still an expenditure for anyone. It adds up to $2,504 over four years, at a time when many can't afford to throw money away. At the very least, the University could save students money by offering them the same raw deal afforded to non-degree-seeking students - an optional fee, with a heavy penalty for one-time use. As an institution that prides itself on maximizing students' choices, Brown can afford to give students one more option.
Jared Lafer '11 thinks that students should get to choose between health care and Flex points.
