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Inside Iowa State
February 5, 1999

Ask Inside

Welcome to another edition of Ask Inside. Send your questions about Iowa State sites, history, policies and "things" to: Ask Inside, 217 Communications, e-mail: inside@iastate.edu.

Here's this week's question:

Q: Can ISU employees use any services at the student health center?

A: The services of the Student Health Center, including the pharmacy, generally are not available to university employees. The main reason is that the facility is 98 percent student funded.

There are several exceptions to the rule, when employees might use the center:

• If a university employee suffers a minor on-the-job injury, the center will treat him or her under the workers' compensation system. If the injury is more extensive and especially if it requires follow-up, the employee should follow the workers' compensation guidelines in the Office Procedure Guide.

• Any true emergency, student or employee alike, will be seen at the center. In the case of an employee, that employee's insurance is billed for the service.

• Employees may use the center's travel clinic but will be billed for this service. Students' consultations are discounted because they pay a mandatory health fee.

There is precedent at other universities for employees being able to use student health centers. The most common is a managed care model in which the university offers a number of health insurance plans, one of which is offered and managed by the student health center. For example, Boynton Health Center at the University of Minnesota is the school's student health center but also a health maintenance organization, and employees may choose to base their health care at the center. Presently, we don't anticipate that Iowa State's student health center will offer a health maintenance plan.

Source: ISU Student Health Center

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Revised 02/04/99