<p>Just a heads up to parents. I think that at $187 a year—this might be a good health supplement policy. This Wilce Health Center is out of network (I think it is for most plans) for our health plan. Just 1-2 visits with a blood test or throat culture and we’ll probably more than break even. </p>
<p>Any thoughts from parents?</p>
<p>We add this on even though our health plan includes Columbus hospitals, etc… We didn’t want our student, if he was ill and felt bad, to have to go searching for or trying to find transportation to a network doctor, urgent care enter, or have to go the ER for minor problems. We know someone else who’s daughter became quite ill one year and it was a big hassle for her to try and find care; they added Wilce the next year and when she became ill again, it made it much easier for her to go right on campus and get care, and they recommended that we add it.</p>
<p>Wilce isn’t in any network, and our prescription program isn’t covered at Wilce (many are, our’s is just a weird one) but it covered services our child needed before going on a study abroad which our own plan wouldn’t have covered anyway. Just for convenience sake for a sick kid it’s probably worth it.</p>
<p>How can you add this now? Do you just log into the buckeye link and do it? I also think it might be a good idea to have it.</p>
<p>Yes
-scroll down to student health insurance
-click on select/waive coverage
-click on wilcare supplement (also click on waiver if you haven’t done this prior to opt out of the osu health insurance)
-fill in your insurance company info (you might have done this before if you opted out—just have to input it again)</p>
<p>that’s it—they give you a confirmation number.</p>
<p>My company insurance agent recommended this supplement</p>
<p>I think the Wilce insurance seems like a good deal. I also wanted to mention that there’s a CVS Minute Clinic at Lane and High Street near the North dorms. It’s actually closer for my son to go there for simple problems and it is covered for use under our regular health insurance policy. Even if it wasn’t, the Minute Clinic prices are fairly reasonable and they offer basic services with no appointment needed.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your help. I am in Park Hall which is a long way from CVS and so I am going to try the supplement this year. Do they mail you a card? What exactly happens after you sign up?</p>
<p>no brainer yes for us…our plan only well care, which dd was not likely to seek at college so this sick care supplement was perfect. dd had minor issues, cost of which more than covered by supplement cost. only downside is it’s not an urgent care, you are to call ahead for an appointment and hours are limited…dd first need arose after their sat hours ended (morning only on a college campus, go figure) so had to go to CVS…visit and Rx over $100. However, she got great follow up care at health center as CVS doc misdiagnosed. will definitely do again</p>
<p>Just FYI on the MinuteClinics, the people running the clinic there are not doctors, they are physician assistants or nurse practitioners.</p>
<p>Seems to me that there was a booth set up at the Drake when we went to Orientation and the Student Health Services people were there with info about the Wilce program. We signed up online but did not need to use it last year. </p>
<p>It’s probably a good idea to consider your kid’s medical history and decide what would be best. I sent cough/cold/allergy meds because I figured if my kid got sick at night, he wouldn’t want to schlep to the store. I also sent a pair of air casts, crutches, and one of those hot/cold compress bags because he plays hard. He was glad to have that stuff because injuires can happen off-hours and he prefers to avoid docs for non-emergencies. My son’s friend actually needed the crutches because he sprained his ankle late at night near my son’s dorm but several blocks from his own dorm.</p>
<p>The Minute Clinic is handy and fine for minor issues, actually close to our student’s apartment this year, but we knew if there was something more than a one-time sore throat, say, that he would end up having follow-ups somewhere anyway and have to find a doctor, or we’d have to keep driving 2 hours back and forth to our home doctor. So we just added it. It’s really not that much money considering what they can offer if needed, and takes a bit of the burden off of our kid to find health providers.</p>
<p>Another thing we did last year - made sure we showed him where the ER is at OSU Medical. Parts of the hospital are right by the south campus dorms, but the ER can be hard to find if you don’t know where it is. Obviously we’d expect any of them to call 911 in an emergency but there are ER situations where you might not do that. So when taking your student to school this year you might want to give him/her a heads up on the location. Hopefully they will never need it!</p>
<p>I got the supplement for my first year this past year. I only had to use it once, but it’s worth it. I had the worst sore throat of my life and got a throat culture test to see if it was strep (thank goodness it wasn’t). Plus there’s a pharmacy right in the building and you can get your prescription right after your appointment without having to go to CVS or another off-campus location.</p>
<p>Someone asked what happens after you sign up. I don’t think anything does. All you have to do is call and make an appointment and your info should be in their system so there’s no need to verify anything with a card. I don’t even think there was a co-pay, but they might have billed it to my home address.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t have WilceCare, you can still use the pharmacy near the RPAC. I used it freshman year, it was convenient.</p>