Student health care plan for 4 universities OKd

As many as 50,000 students at four universities in New York State will be eligible for lower-cost health insurance through a pilot program that allows the colleges to insure themselves.

"While many students are covered by their parents' health insurance, other students have to purchase coverage, which can be a burden for families already dealing with tuition and other costs," said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who last week signed legislation that gave the plan a green light.

"Allowing the schools themselves to offer health plans lowers the cost, while ensuring that students get the health coverage they need," he said in a statement.

The new legislation was required because state insurance law prohibits institutions from self-funding a student health plan without a license to do business as an insurance company, according to a statement about the program from the state Department of Financial Services.

The four participating schools -- Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University and the University of Rochester -- approached the Department of Financial Services to request an exemption to state law to provide insurance themselves. Officials said the schools are being allowed to self-fund in part because they have large endowments to support health care plans.

State officials could not provide figures on how much cheaper the plans could be, but they said some universities and colleges in other states, including Yale in Connecticut, Harvard in Massachusetts and Dartmouth in New Hampshire, are self-insured.

The option is available in several other states, including California, Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, Minnesota and Ohio, said David Neustadt, a spokesman for the Department of Financial Services.

"This law allows students and families to access comprehensive health insurance at the best possible prices," said David J. Skorton, president of Cornell University. "As all of us in higher education are working to control our costs, this flexibility is an important element and has proved successful at schools in other states."

Officials hope to duplicate the plan if it's successful.