I received an e-mail from N.C. State University about the new mandatory insurance coverage policy in UNC system schools. It instructed me to go to a private insurance company's Web site and enter my personal health coverage information so that this company can decide whether my coverage is credible.
Because the university system has decided that the 10 percent of students (as published in NCSU's newspaper, Technician) without health coverage need it, the other 90 percent of us have to compromise the security of our personal information. We have no freedom to choose whether to trust our information to a private entity, no freedom to decide that the conflict of interest here is acceptable. As I was informed by the chief of staff to UNC system President Erskine Bowles, the system cannot believe the students' own statements that they have enough insurance. Instead, the system places this trust into the same insurance company that would mandatorily require those deemed not to have credible coverage to have its policy.
If I choose not to comply, the university will assume that I have no insurance and charge me $744 on top of my tuition - which if I do not pay will cause me to be disenrolled from my classes.
