In response to changes implemented by the Affordable Care Act, some colleges in Ohio will no longer offer student health insurance plans, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Columbus College of Art & Design will drop its plan after 88 percent of its students waived the plan last year. The decision follows a steady decline in the number of students participating in the program in recent years.
The school's vice president of student affairs said CCAD was late to game, as Columbus-based Capital University halted its student insurance in the 2013-14 academic year and Westerville, Ohio-based Otterbein University does not offer student health insurance plans. Last week, the University at Albany (N.Y.) also ditched its student health insurance program, in addition to its mandate requiring full-time students have health insurance.
Under the ACA, parents' coverage can be extended to their children until the children reach age 26. In addition, as the college-based plans need to adhere to minimum-coverage standards under the ACA, they have become too pricy for many students, according to the report.
Other Ohio colleges — including The Ohio State University in Columbus, Delaware-based Ohio Wesleyan University and Granville-based Denison University — will continue to offer coverage next year. Ohio State saw 1,255 less students on its plan since fall 2011, while 13,684 still bought coverage this year.
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