Experiences of low-income college students in selection of health insurance, access, and quality of care

Abstract

Objective

To understand the experiences and perspectives of low-income University of California undergraduates related to their health insurance options, access to and quality of care.

Participants

14 undergraduate students across five UC campuses who identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged or low-income.

Methods

We conducted 4 focus groups organized by type of insurance coverage in April 2022.

Results

(1) the insurance selection process for low-income students is complicated by multiple, sometimes competing factors; (2) the lack of clear information confuses students’ selection of insurance and health care options; and (3) students experiences challenges in access and quality of care, irrespective of insurance type.

Conclusions

Ensuring access to high quality care, information and coverage is critical to the university mission to support a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment, for a student body that reflects the needs of the population of California.

Keywords:

• Health insurance
• low-income
• university
• college
• students

Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank the University of California, Davis Department of Public Health Sciences, and the participants of the focus groups for making the research possible.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of California, Davis.

Data availability statement

The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research supporting data is not available.

Notes

1 UC Davis Health accepts Medi-Cal recipient only from Sacramento County, same for the other UC Health in their respective county. However, the Student Health Centers do not accept Medi-Cal, which leads students paying out-of-pocket or to seek care from another source.

2 The Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan guarantees students that are California residents with a total family income less than $80,000 and qualifies for financial aid will not be charged tuition.³⁶