In light of federal health care reforms, Cornell administrators are examining how new regulations will affect the University’s Student Health Insurance Plan. On Sept. 23, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23 — began allowing dependents to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26, regardless of the dependents’ student status, marital status or tax relationship with their parents.

With President Obama’s confident rhetoric, a pep rally for doctors at the White House on Monday, and a Senate vote on the horizon, health care reform seems more imminent than ever. The rising cost of health care, the aging population, and a newly formed White House Office of Health Reform may be structural factors contributing to the likelihood of the reform. However, it is far from the first time that politicians have sold the American Public on the idea of impending reform to the American Public.

And despite bold proposals dating 75 Years, comprehensive reform has never happened.

Aetna, the company with which Cornell contracts for student health insurance, will reimburse both active and former Cornell students more than $155,000 in faulty health insurance claims, University officials said yesterday. This sum represents only a portion of the more than $5 million in claims that the company will pay to over 73,000 students at over 200 colleges nationwide as part of an agreement announced Tuesday by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Between 1998 and April 1, 2008, Aetna Student Health mishandled 4,114 insurance claims filed by 1,626 Cornell students, according to University Press Relations Officer Joe Schwartz. During this period, the company reimbursed students for less money than they were entitled to, Cuomo’s office said in a statement.

This month, the University was issued a subpoena by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as part of a broader investigation of relationships between the colleges and the health insurance companies that cover students.

In addition to Cornell, Columbia, Georgetown, Sarah Lawrence College and several State University of New York campuses received subpoenas and document requests.

According to The New York Times, the investigation is focused on “the adequacy of disclosure of policy terms and costs to students” and also whether colleges receive any “improper payments” in exchange for requiring students to use a particular insurer.

In the face of a national economic crisis, the University does not foresee any major changes to the student health insurance plan it offers.

“We do not expect this economic crisis to affect Cornell University policy regarding health insurance,” said Sharon Dittman, associate director of Health Promotion and Community Relations for Gannett.

For those who opt to buy healthcare from Cornell, they may receive a price break. Dittman cited that financial aid for health insurance will be influenced by the fiscal downturn, providing students with adequate resources in a time of need.

While healthy young adults may appear to be the least at risk for health problems, make no mistake — many young adults are uninsured. The current system of health insurance in the United States has placed college students in an incredible bind. Over 13.7 million young adults in the U.S. today do not have health insurance specifically, those between the ages of 19 and 29, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a healthcare think tank. With young adults comprise one of the largest segments of America’s uninsured, we can be certain this is a serious domestic issue.

With approximately 7,800 students enrolled in graduate programs and professional schools at Cornell, the cost of the University’s health insurance plan can pose serious problems to not only students, but their families as well.

According to student-elected trustee Mao Ye, there are at least 1,200 dependents of students at Cornell; a dependent is a lawful spouse or same-sex partner of an enrolled Cornell student, or any unmarried child under the age of 19 who is not self-supporting and who resides with, or is court-ordered to receive insurance by, the enrolled Cornell student.