News of the BYU Student Health Center now being opened to BYU Employees has been met with great interest and excitement over the past two weeks, as well as some questions. Y News editor Natalie Ipson spoke with Brad LeBaron, director of Student Health Services, to answer your most frequently asked questions:
Natalie Ipson: Does this change include part-time, ¾ time and adjunct employees?
Brad LeBaron: No, only full-time employees who have BYU-sponsored health insurance with DMBA, Aetna or Altius are eligible to use the Student Health Center at this time. Additionally, the waived co-pay only applies to those full-time employees. Students will still be required to pay a co-pay.
NI: Is this a permanent change?
BL: At this time, the initiative is a pilot program to assess how well it works. We’re hopeful that the program will be effective enough to become permanent and potentially be expanded in the future.
NI: Does this new offering include family members of BYU employees?
BL: No, not at this time. We will continue to review this Student Health Center initiative and the overall capacity of the Student Health Center and adjust as we are able to in the future.
NI: Does the offer of “no co-pay” also include no co-pay on pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and physical therapy services?
BL: No, it only pertains to regular doctor appointments or visits. Usage of the Student Health Center pharmacy would be like any other pharmacy. However, the Student Health Center pharmacy is close and convenient to campus and welcomes your patronage. Charges for laboratory, radiology and physical therapy will be processed through DMBA, Aetna or Altius just like they would be in any other clinic.
NI: Is the name of the Student Health Center changing?
BL: No.
NI: Will students experience a decrease in the service level because of this initiative?
BL: We cannot allow that to happen. This is the reason why we are piloting the program and also limiting services to full-time employees who are on BYU-sponsored insurance. We believe we have the capacity to serve both the students and full-time employees well. Because we are not certain of the demand employees will generate, we need to roll out this program on a trial basis and learn as we go forward.
