Smith College Health Services
(Click Here for the Health Services Website)
· General Information
· Important Phone Numbers
· Services Provided
· Fees and Insurance Information
· Emergency Contraception
cBirth Control Voucher Program
· HIV Testing
General Information
Hours: Health Services is now open from 8 a.m. to midnight, 7 days a week.
From midnight until 8 a.m., there will be a nurse on call. If you have an emergency or question that absolutely cannot wait until the morning, please call the answering services at 585-1260, and a nurse will call you back. You can also call Public Safety’s emergency line at, ext. 800.
Health Services is open for appointments, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The staff takes a break for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
Routine gynecological exams may be scheduled on Tuesdays, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. during the Routine Gynecological Clinic.
Counseling Services is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and staff is on call after regular hours for emergencies.
Location: Health Services and Counseling Services are located past the quad, on Paradise Road.
Staff: Medical Services is staffed by a full-time physician, three nurse practitioners, three staff nurses, a nurse’s aide and a medical technologist.
Important Phone Numbers
From off campus: 413-585-2800
On Campus: ext. 2800
Emergencies Answering Service: 413-585-1260
Appointment Desk (8:30-4:30 p.m.): ... ext. 2823
Counseling Services (9 – 4 p.m.) ext. 2843
Dr. Leslie R. Jaffe, M.D., Director of Health Services
(8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) ext. 2806
Nurses Station ext. 2813
Lab ext. 2816
Services Provided
- Routine Physical Examinations
- Sports Physicals
- Junior Year Abroad Physicals
- Work-Related Physicals
- Routine Gynecological Exams and Consultations
- Routine Immunizations
- Hepatitis B
- Tetanus
- Influenza
- Meningitis
- Foreign Travel Preparation
- Nutrition Services
- A nutritionist is available weekly at Health Services to work with students concerned about general nutrition, vegetarian diets, eating disorders, weight management or elevated cholesterol.
- For an appointment with the nutritionist, you’ll need a referral from Health Services, the Athletic Department, or Residence and Dining Services.
- Emergency Contraception
- Referrals to Non-College Health Providers
- If you are enrolled in the full Smith College Student Health Insurance Plan, the cost of a visit to an outside physician may be covered by the plan; however, this consultation must be authorized by a college practitioner before the visit.
- If you are enrolled in another insurance plan, it is your responsibility to determine whether the visit will be covered.
- HIV Testing
Counseling Services
- Individual and Group Psychotherapy
- Psychiatric Consultations
- Referrals
- Community Programs and Workshops
Fees and Insurance Information
Health Insurance Options
College Medical Insurance:
- If one chooses this type of insurance, the student must be in a degree program, and taking at least four credits at Smith.
- The total cost of this insurance plan is $1,962 for one year. Coverage is for the entire year (8/15/2005 – 8/15/2006) including when school is not in session.
- If a student opts for this policy, all services and facilities used at Smith College Health Services (excluding immunizations) are prepaid, and there is no paperwork to complete.
- If a student requires services or treatment not offered at Smith College, emergency care, or care while school is not in session, health coverage is expanded. There are, however, some services that are not covered under the college health insurance plan.
- This insurance plan is part of the Health Care Value Management network. This means that when a student visits another health care provider within the network, out-of-pocket fees for that visit will be less. It is important that you make sure that the health care provider is within the network. Students must meet a $100 deductible, per year, for the in-network price reduction to take effect.
- When school is in session, students must first report to Smith College Health Services for treatment or referral in order for benefits to be paid. This is extremely important because if you do not visit Health Services first, you may have to pay out-of-pocket for your visit.
- If you get a referral to see an off-campus health care provider, the college medical insurance will pay 90% of the preferred allowance for in-network providers, and 70% of the preferred allowance for out-of-network care. This means that you will end up paying out-of-pocket for some of the off-campus visit.
- You also receive a prescription medication benefit of $1000 per year. There is a co-payment for of $10 for generic brands, and $30 for brand name medications.
- For more detailed information about this insurance please go to http://www.smith.edu/health/msinsurance.html. Once on that page, look under the headline, “Student Medical Insurance Plan” and click on the link that says, “Student Medical Insurance Plan.
Optional On-Campus Health Plan
- This health plan is very similar to the college medical insurance. This insurance, however, does not cover services received from health care providers off campus. Generally, if a student opts for this type of coverage, he or she uses it in combination with private/family insurance.
- The cost of this insurance is $230 for the year, and may be purchased at any time during the academic year.
- Most lab tests and procedures are covered; however, there are some that are not. Check with your health care provider to see whether or not the test is covered.
- Depo Provera is not covered under this plan.
Private Insurance
- Any student, no matter there insurance, can visit the health care providers at Health Services free of charge.
- This is where insurance gets tricky. Any ancillary fees or lab work done (i.e. pap smears, mono tests, wart treatments) at health services will be billed to the student.
- After the bill is sent to your mailbox, you must then send it off to your private insurance company, and the insurance company will hopefully cover the cost of services received.
- You are responsible, however, for any services not covered by your private insurance.
- Students on this plan may still purchase birth control vouchers at Health Services.
Fee Guidelines for the Current Academic Year: http://www.smith.edu/health/feeguidelines.html
http://www.smith.edu/health/ancillaryfeesch.html
The first site gives the fees for services provided by health services. The second site describes lab and vaccination fees. All fees are dependent on the type of insurance for which the student opts, and are subject to change from year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions about Insurance and Payment: http://www.smith.edu/health/faqmedicalinsurance.html
· There is also a Contraception Discount Purchase Program available to students at Smith College.
Emergency Contraception
Emergency Contraception (a.k.a. the Morning After Pill or EC) is still available at Health Services. Unfortunately, you can no longer get it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week because of the new hours at Health Services. The good news is that if you have unprotected intercourse with a male bodied person, or the condom broke, you can take Emergency Contraception up to 5 days after the incident!!! Although it is better to take it sooner than later, don’t worry if you can’t get the pill the day after.
Another new thing about EC is that you can take both the pills at one time. In the old days you took one and then had to take the other 12 hours later. This meant that if you took the pill at 2 p.m. you would have to stay awake to take the second pill at 2 a.m. Now, both pills are taken at one time, which is much more convenient.
Emergency Contraception costs $10 at Health Services. This cost is pretty standard, and may even be more expensive at some places.
Although EC is completely safe, it is not recommended that you take it as your main form of birth control. It is fairly expensive, and an increased dose of hormone. If you are using EC a lot, you may want to consider using the birth control pill, which can cost as little as $10 a pack. That will protect you for the entire month!!
HIV Testing
- Currently, Health Services only offers Confidential HIV Testing.
- If you go in to Health Services to get a confidential HIV test, that test will appear on your medical record. The difference between this test and an anonymous test is that in an anonymous test nobody but you will know the results of your test. This is because with anonymous testing you are associated with a number. When picking up the test results, you give the person your number, and they will hand you an envelope with your test results inside. The only thing that people will know is that you were tested for HIV.
- Anonymous testing is no longer available at Health Services; however, Tapestry Health Care offers anonymous testing for $50, but is based on a sliding scale. In other words, if you cannot pay the full $50, the center will try to work something out. If you want an anonymous HIV test call Tapestry at 586-2539.
The cost of a confidential HIV test at Health Services
costs $23, and is not covered by either the full or optional college health plan
Written by Lisa Goldenhar '06
Last Updated: 1-23-06
