The University of Central Florida is exploring the possibility of making health insurance an enrollment requirement, Campus Reform reported.
Students at UCF are currently able to enroll without having health insurance. It is estimated that 20 to 30 percent of students at the university are uninsured or underinsured, Michael Deichen, director of UCF Health Services, told Central Florida Future.
Deichen said there is a push in higher education to get students insured.
"The top 20 [public] schools in the nation have such requirements," Deichen told Central Florida Future.
If the university decides to move forward with such a requirement, which would need to be approved by the school's board, it would likely go into effect in 2015, Campus Reform reported.
Currently, it is not possible for students to purchase insurance with financial aid, but the requirement would make that an option for students, Deichen said. He also said that the requirement could make insurance affordable to all students enrolling at UCF, not just those who are granted federal aid.
The requirement would only apply to new students. Deichen told Central Florida Future that if the university moves forward with the requirement, new students would have to show proof of insurance before they enroll in classes.
Although insurance is not required for students as of now, UCF currently offers its students a health plan for its students through United Healthcare, a plan that is not available on the federal healthcare exchange.
Nikki Risko, a senior studying psychology at FSU, told Central Florida Future said she thinks making health insurance a requirement is a good idea.
"I'm still under my parents insurance through my dad's company, but a lot of my friends have their health insurance through FSU," she said. "I think more schools should make it a requirement for students to have health insurance because many students don't want to pay a lot of money to see a doctor or specialist. So they ride it out until they're super sick or until more damage is done."