CU-Boulder doubling mental health service fee makes us question how much they value mental health
So because students are ACTUALLY using the services, they’re making them less affordable?
All students are required to have some form of health coverage when attending CU Boulder. CU only offers one full health insurance coverage plan: Student Gold Health Insurance Plan. Students have the option to elect a different form of coverage through employers, or through a family member.
Due to increased demands in mental health services at CU-Boulder, CU-Boulder wants to double its current student fee for mental services. It is reported that students pay $21.77 per semester for six counseling or psychiatric visits at Wardenburg. With this unexpected increase, students would be paying $43.54 per semester for six individual visits, crisis care and group therapy.
Frankly, an increase in the price of mental health services could lead to a downward spiral within the CU community. Those that can not afford the unexpected increased services will be expected to manage their mental health without expert care, which could lead to a crisis of student mental health around campus. Why would CU not devise a more creative solution as opposed to opting out for the easiest option? If CU genuinely cared about the mental stability of their students, they would avoid increased fees by all means.
Morganne Gua, a current sophomore, said, “How can they do that? I would much rather have my tuition go towards mental health services, as opposed to state-of-the-art football buildings, and excess athletic equipment.” Gabriella Lettow, also a current sophomore, echoed, “That’s just not okay.”
Student mental health should be CU Boulder’s number one priority, therefore there must be another solution to the higher demand for health services. The reason why there is an increase in demand is because students need the psychiatric and expert care.
The cost of the Student Gold Insurance Plan is currently, $1,889.50 per semester. With the increase of mental health services, students would be $1,976.58 per semester for health insurance coverage through CU Boulder.