Correction (Feb. 17 11:20 p.m.): Due to an editing error in an this editorial, the board incorrectly describes Pearce & Pearce as a health care provider. It is a health insurance provider. The board also incorrectly states that all UNC-system students will be required to have health care. They will be required to have health insurance.
The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.
The UNC system made the right decision by choosing an experienced and proven health care provider for its mandatory health care plan.
Starting next year, every student within the UNC system will be required to have health care.
People who already have coverage will be unaffected. But students currently without coverage will have a very affordable option through Pearce & Pearce.
The annual base premium will come to about $610 per student, said Bruce Mallette, UNC-system senior associate vice president for academic and student affairs.
Some anecdotal evidence exist that Pearce & Pearce does not have as far reaching coverage as some might like. But it has been the optional health care provider for 13 system universities prior to this decision.
Pearce & Pearce has proven that it is up to the challenge.
If students do not get the level of coverage through the provider that they require, they can submit complaints to university student health centers.
“The agreement has protective language,” Mallette said. “If we feel that students aren’t getting the coverage that they need, there’s an out.”
Pearce & Pearce was chosen over five other vendors competing for the contract, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Although Blue Cross and Blue Shield might be the better known of the two, Pearce & Pearce has demonstrated an ability to do the job correctly.
The UNC system held a number of meetings and interviews to ensure that the right provider was selected.
Of the some 200,000 students in the UNC system, roughly 60,000 are expected to purchase the plan.
With how many students this decision affects, it certainly couldn’t have been an easy one. So sticking with a familiar and experienced provider was the smart choice.
