Like many freshmen, I was incapacitated by the freshman flu. 

My first year on campus was marked by a symphony of coughing, hacking and wheezing. I had never struggled with significant health issues in the past, but the introduction of new germs must have caused a panic in my immune system.

I wasn’t alone in this fate, as many other unlucky freshmen could be heard stifling their sneezes across lecture halls. From COVID-19 and strep throat to anxiety and depression, it seemed as though no one escaped unscathed. 

As an incoming student, I was prepared for the incessant illness, as many upperclassmen had warned me about the “freshman flu” phenomenon. 

However, I had not foreseen how difficult it would be to receive treatment. 

Every fall, lampposts across campus flutter with fliers announcing the virtues of the University of Oregon Health Center. The Health Center, located conveniently on campus, boasts of a clinic, pharmacy and counseling center. The UO website states that the Health Center can be “your medical home away from home,” offering students “comprehensive primary care services, as well as acute care, sports medicine, psychiatry, gynecology and endocrinology.” 

All this can be yours through the UO Student Health Benefits Plan, which costs $3,516 a year. Students subscribed to an in-network non-university insurance plan can access the same services for the low cost of premiums, copays and deductibles, while those with out-of-network plans — often plans from states other than Oregon — must pay a steeper per-visit fee. 

I had been informed about all these attributes during freshman orientation, so when I first contracted the flu, I made a beeline to the UO Health Center. I was met with a disappointing surprise: the triage nurse was booked up for the next few weeks. 

I was redirected to the PeaceHealth Urgent Care, where I had to wait for five hours and pay $95 out of pocket for a consultation and prescription. 

The pattern persisted — each time I fell ill, I would be redirected to outside facilities for treatment, usually accompanied by a hefty fee. The school had sung praises of the UO Health Center’s high-quality facilities, but they were never accessible when I needed them the most. Appointments needed to be booked weeks in advance, an easy ask for scheduled check-ups but an impossible feat when faced with an unforeseen illness. 

Other students echoed similar experiences. 

“My issues in scheduling appointments have made me unable to get my medical conditions checked, requiring me to make unnecessary visits to the emergency room,” Henry Petito, a UO sophomore, said. 

As a student on the medical track, Petito notes this as a cause for concern: “It causes a delay in the emergency room staff’s ability to help patients truly experiencing emergencies, as well as forcing me to waste my time and money.”

“In my freshman year, I got an exceptionally bad case of eczema out of nowhere, and after six weeks of trying, I finally got an appointment at the health center,” Larissa Vandehey, a UO senior, said. “They told me it was the soap or detergent that I’d been using for more than two years at that point and basically said I was fine.”

“I didn’t find the school insurance that useful,” Tetianna Smith Drysdale, a UO junior, said. “The one time I did go to the UO Health Center for something, the nurses couldn’t draw my blood correctly — they were so bad that my arms were cramped for the rest of the day.”

To understand more on how the Health Center operates and works with student’s needs, The Daily Emerald requested an interview with the UO Health Center three times, but at the time of publishing this article did not hear back from the Health Center. The Emerald also reached out to UO Spokesperson Eric Howald twice before the publishing of this article, but has yet to hear back from Howald for any response to student’s statements in this article.

The UO Health Center is the perfect resource for students whose medical needs end at the occasional sports injury, STD screening or flu shot. 

However, for students with more complex or chronic issues, the Health Center often serves as a mere concierge, pointing them towards more costly services that the university is too busy or undersupplied to provide. 

The services covered by the university concentrate on preserving the functionality of the student body rather than truly ensuring its health. The state-of-the-art sports medicine center keeps its athletes churning out revenue. The STD-screening and readily-available contraceptives soothe community concerns about sexual safety and keep students from dropping out due to the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy. The free flu and COVID-19 shots prevent the spread of contagious diseases, keeping lecture halls full and student workers clocked in. 

These are all crucial services — but for many, they are not enough.   

Students with hidden or non-contagious ailments often find the UO Health Plan entirely insufficient for their needs. These unseen issues don’t impact the university’s profits or enrollment rates, and as such, they often fall beyond the scope of university-provided services. 

Many students report issues getting prescriptions for their chronic conditions filled at the UO pharmacy. “My prescribed medication has been on a three month backorder,” Petito said. “I’ve received minimal communication from the school, with no expected time when it will arrive. The lack of medication has led to nearly constant nausea and unnecessary pain.”

Mental health is another invisible illness that appears to be considered a lower priority by UO Health Services. 

UO junior Emma Deutschmann reported being put on the waitlist for 12 months to receive psychiatric services, while sophomore Torsten Madsen waited for five months. In a campus where 41% and 47% of students reported struggling with depression and anxiety respectively, mental healthcare should be easily accessible, but short-staffing and high demand makes counseling a luxury. 

Of course, there are only so many services that the university can provide. The budget is limited, and the rarer the condition, the less likely that UO Health Services will be equipped to treat it. 

Nor can these shortcomings be blamed on the UO Health Services staff, who work hard to provide quality care with the resources they’re given. 

“The system is screwed up as is, and the small building can’t keep up with the large student body that continues to grow,” Petito said. “I believe the problem is due to the university’s failure to properly budget and fund what needs to be supported, and the recent federal attack on health and education hasn’t helped.”

Currently, UO Health Services are funded by the Student Administrative Health Fee, a fee built into the cost of tuition. Despite being subsidized by the students, this fund does not serve as student health insurance.  

UO Health Services’ inability to meet the needs of a growing student population is problematic, but it is a long-term problem — one that will require brainstorming and extra funding to remedy, a task made more daunting by the school’s current dire financial straits. 

The more urgent issue lies in the marketing of the UO Health Plan. 

Currently, the plan is pitched to incoming freshmen as a one-stop shop for all their healthcare needs. Readily-available resources, such as the UO web page or the fall term campus advertisements, do nothing to acknowledge the plan’s limitations. 

“The way that they advertised it was a little pushy, and I only got it because I thought it was required,” Smith Drysdale said. “I feel like they could’ve made it clear that there were other options. It’s clear that they really want money more than anything else.”

College freshmen, the plan’s target demographic, are often inexperienced at navigating the healthcare system independently. For many of them, college is the first time they have had to manage their own insurance. They deserve to be warned of the possible out-of-pocket costs they will be required to incur before signing on to a $3,516 annual commitment. 

The UO Health Center is a valuable resource, but it is not yet the fully-fledged clinic its advertising materials purport it to be. In future years, I hope that UO will provide its incoming students with the facts necessary to make an informed decision about their healthcare coverage. 

In the meantime, I urge students considering the UO Health Plan to research its coverage and consult with their peers about their experiences with UO Health Services. The university has a financial incentive to sell you its insurance plan whether it is functional or not — it is up to you to make the right decision for your personal healthcare needs, whatever they may be.