Effective August 1, the co-pay for Exclusive Provider Network (EPN) mental health visits for students enrolled in the Student Health Plan (SHP) has been reduced from $20 to $10 for the 2024-25 plan year. The plan now also fully covers the cost of initial visits with an EPN therapist, meaning students enrolled in the plan can begin receiving mental health care from an off-campus provider.
In addition to these changes to mental health benefits, University Health Services (UHS) has shared additional and clarified information regarding coverage for international travel and fertility preservation.
The SHP annual fee for the 2024-25 year for undergraduate students has been increased to $3,510, an increase of $360 from the previous year.
While undergraduate students can opt out of SHP coverage, graduate students are automatically enrolled in the service.
In May 2024, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) discussed mental health initiatives at its final meeting of the 2023-24 academic year. During this meeting, the financial burden of co-payments was highlighted as a particularly concerning issue.
According to Graduate Student Government (GSG) Executive Committee Vice President Christopher Catalano, co-payments were also identified as a critical issue through GSG’s participation in the Ivy Plus Conference, a conference that involves attendees from all of the Ivy League schools as well as other elite institutions such as MIT and UChicago.
“One of the topics that [came] up [during the conference] “What matters most is health, and mental health in particular,” Catalano said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “We’ve found that many of our peer institutions offer more comprehensive coverage for mental health care. Some of our peer institutions, for example, cover the first 52 visits with no copay.”
Catalano added that compared to Princeton’s peer institutions, SHP’s mental health coverage was the “least accessible and least comprehensive.”
After prioritizing this concern, a formal policy proposal advocating for the reduction or elimination of copayments was prepared and submitted to the Office of Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun. The proposal included research findings, undergraduate and graduate student testimonials, and cost estimates for various financing options.
The proposal specifically highlighted the disproportionate impacts of co-payments on “low-income students, students with chronic mental illness, and other marginalized populations.”
In one testimonial, an undergraduate student anonymously shared that he “stopped going to therapy because of the co-pays.”
“My family is struggling financially and I feel like the school is pretty generous with the money they give for financial aid, but I don’t understand why that generosity isn’t there for mental health care,” the student added.
According to Catalano, the university administration has been “very receptive” to the proposal. On July 12, the University Health Service (UHS) announced that the EPN copayment had been reduced from $20 to $10 for the 2024-25 year and that first visits to the therapist would be covered 100%.
The announcement said the decision to cover the cost of initial visits with therapists was made to allow students “to assess whether a therapist is right for them without having to pay out-of-pocket.”
According to Catalano, a student enrolled in the SHP program who sees a standard therapist once a week and a psychiatrist once a month will now save $600 per year. These benefits also apply to the dependents of enrolled students.
“I don’t think I can overstate the importance of this initiative,” Catalano said. “I’m very proud that we were able to accomplish this, and I’m very excited about the benefits that all students will experience today and in the future.”
“This initiative took about a year, so we are very grateful to the University for prioritizing mental health and understanding the importance of our concerns,” Catalano added.[The GSG is] “I really look forward to continuing to work with USG on health care, mental health care and making the campus a place where all of its students can succeed and thrive.”
Ava Fonss is a news writer for the “Prince.”
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
