Monterey Bay: The Magazine of CSU Monterey Bay Fall/Winter 2013, Vol. VI, No. II | Page 10

A health care provider
at the Campus Health
Center examines
a patient.

have health insurance, it can really have an impact
tion by a young woman who had suffered a traumaton you financially.”
ic brain injury as the result of a fall, then had to deal
CSUMB students pay a $63 per semester health
with the difficult physical and financial aftermath.
fee, which entitles them to basic medical care
The town hall also included a wide spectrum of
through the campus health center, run by Doctors
people involved in the system – including county
on Duty.
officials, an insurance agent, a health-care advocate
“But if you break a bone and have to get an
and representatives of Health and Wellness Services
X-ray, that is not a basic service; that will have to be
on the CSUMB campus.
paid for out of pocket if you don’t have health insurBased on the feedback from those who attended,
ance,” Rodriguez said.
the town hall was effective in informing people
While the CSUMB campus health center deals
about the legislation. However, Williamson said one
with a finite – and relatively healthy – clientele,
of the lasting lessons he learned was the importance
health authorities for Monterey County face differof one-on-one communication.
ent, and even more complex, issues with the advent
“I know this sounds crazy, because it is so unof the Affordable Care Act.
achievable,” Williamson said. “But I almost think
Dr. Kim Judson and Dr. Ignacio Navarro of
you have to go door-to-door.”
CSUMB’s Institute for
Emma Spellman, a
Community Collab2013 CSUMB graduate,
orative Studies were conis coordinating outreach
We are going to have students
tracted by the Monterey
to Otter students regardtalking to students. That should
County Health Departing the Affordable Care
ment to help prepare the
Act. Working with a
bring the message to a more
county for the new law.
grant from Covered Calipersonal level.”
“We worked on an
fornia, she and student
analysis of the clinical
educators will be engaged
safety net system. That
in exactly that kind of
turned into a study of how ready the system will be
personal communication.
when the Affordable Care Act goes into effect [Jan.
“We are going to have students talking to
1, 2014],” Dr. Navarro said.
students. That should bring the message to a more
CSUMB researchers used census data and
personal level,” Spellman said.
surveys of doctors, emergency rooms and clinics to
Spellman said the student educators will have
estimate how many new doctors the county would
materials that will allow them to tell students
need to staff safety-net clinics once Obamacare is in
exactly what their insurance costs would be under
effect. They estimated that 10 more doctors would
Covered California.
be needed to handle the increased demand. CurFor campus health officials, the law’s focus on
rently, the county’s safety net clinics have about
access to health care and preparing for the unex36 full-time doctors providing care to more than
pected goes hand-in-hand with their ongoing mes85,000 patients.
sage to students.
However, even after working on this study, NaGary Rodriguez, health promotion and prevenvarro said it is difficult to predict how such a sweeption specialist at Cal State Monterey Bay, said it is a
ing change will affect demand for health care.
challenge to convince students that it is in their best
“The United States spends on health care an
interests to be insured.
amount almost as big as the [gross domestic
“What we have to do – not to be Debbie Downproduct] of France,” Dr. Navarro said. “That is
er here – is to let them know that you never know
huge. Try to reform it, that is a major undertaking.
what might happen in your life, you could have an
You can’t do it in one or two years; it is going to
accident or some medical condition that could be
take 10 to 20 years for this to change.”
pretty catastrophic,” Rodriguez said. “If you don’t

Photo by Randy Tunnell

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