Required Health Insurance Shouldn’t Be a Financial Hardship

A street view rendering of UChicago’s student wellness center. Courtesy of Wight & Company. The United States spends more per person on healthcare than any other economically developed nation, yet tens of millions of Americans remain uninsured or struggle to afford the costs their insurance is supposed to help cover. Approximately 27 million people in the U.S. are currently uninsured, about 8 percent of the population. Millions more are underinsured—they have insurance but face out-of-pocket costs that are difficult to afford. Many universities require students who do not have comparable coverage to enroll in a university-sponsored plan. At universities with mandatory insurance, students generally cannot opt out simply because they prefer to go uninsured. For students 25 or younger on a parent’s plan that meets the university’s requirements, this mandate poses little additional financial burden.

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