Mark Dyer
Staff Writer
Despite holding valid health insurance, international students are still being charged a nominal fee for seeking medical attention at the York Lanes Appletree Medical Centre.
Thobani Ndlangamandla is one of those students. Ndlangamandla visited Appletree Medical Centre for medical tests and paid her $15 co-pay fee. A while afterwards, she was called back in for an appointment, only to be told that nothing was wrong.
She had to pay another $15 for the short visit. The appointment took no more than five minutes, she says.
This isn’t the first time the York Lanes Appletree Medical Centre has been the subject of complaint. It drew much criticism last September when it changed its administrative fees for international students covered under the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP).
International students were required to pay a $50 annual administration fee, which was changed to a $15 per-visit co-pay fee. UHIP currently costs $684 for 12 months of coverage per person, and is mandatory for all international students at York.
Despite the fact that UHIP pays up to 125 per cent of equivalent OHIP costs, Appletree claims UHIP does not cover standard rates outlined by the Ontario Medical Association (OMA).
Appletree Customer Service says the fee is used to cover administrative costs, so little can be done to remove it. The new fee is tied to standardized OMA rates, thereby giving Appletree the right to charge UHIP-covered students.
“This is a private clinic, so they really can charge the OMA rate fee if they wish. We can’t dictate that to them,” says York vp students Rob Tiffin.
Tiffin notes other universities run their own health centres and charge all students a health care fee. However, he has yet to see student initiative for a similar system.
As far as whether a York-run health centre would be a viable option he says “the students will have to make that decision.”
Cidalia Ganesh, a supervisor at The Doctor’s Office medical clinic located in the Jane and Finch Mall, confirms the clinic does not charge extra fees to international students.
“This is the first I’m hearing of this,” says Ganesh of the pay-per-visit fees. “When the patient comes in, we have a claim form that [they] sign. Then we fill out the rest and just mail it off. It’s minor.”
According to Appletree customer service, all Appletree clinics charge UHIP-covered students.
Since calling for an Appletree boycott last year, the International Student Association at York (ISAY) has listed seven other medical clinics that do not charge fees for UHIP-covered students.
Alastair Woods, YFS vp campaigns and advocacy, feels that as the only medical centre on campus, Appletree is taking advantage of international students.
“Most international students will live on or close to campus, so Appletree becomes the default clinic for them to go to,” says Woods. “[Appletree] is cornering international students, who are already in the unfortunate situation of not being covered by OHIP and having to pay extra for UHIP.”
Ndlangamandla still feels it is unsettling for health-insured students to have to pay to visit medical clinics.
“It seems unfair that if a student was truly unwell, they must pay $15 in order to find out this information,” she says. “Clearly we are being taken advantage of.”
