Two significant changes made to Northwestern’s health insurance plan went into effect Wednesday that will give students more flexibility, officials announced. Insurance costs will not be affected.

The revised policy eliminates the $5,000 cap on prescription drugs for students who are on the university’s plan. The plan is offered through The Chickering Group, a subsidiary of Aetna Life Insurance Company, said Chris Johnson, director of Risk Management and Safety for NU. Aetna provides health insurance for college students through their universities.

“We have students who need more than $5,000 worth of prescriptions,” said Johnson, adding that students were the driving force behind the changes.

About 5,000 students buy health insurance from NU. The university requires all undergraduates and graduates to have medical insurance. Many undergraduate students are covered their parents’ insurance plans and are not affected by NU’s policies.

As part of the change, a new prescription card will be issued to students next week to help simplify the process of filling out prescriptions.

With the new prescription card, students can go to any pharmacy and get their prescription filled after paying reduced prices set by their insurance companies, also known as a co-pay. Prior to this change, students had to pay cash and then get reimbursed if they went to a pharmacy outside of NU.

“If your prescription costs $500 you would pay the retail price out of your pocket and seek reimbursement from The Chickering Group,” Johnson said. “Now the great advantage for students is they can just put down their $10 or $25 co-pay.”

Weinberg sophomore Patrick Gilner, who is on NU’s insurance plan, said the changes are welcome and will benefit students.

“People pay for insurance to get the coverage and they shouldn’t have to jump through hoops,” Gilner said.

Even though many students do not go over the $5,000 cap, Gilner said the elimination of the cap helps insurance holders.

“You don’t have worry about running out of health insurance, and it cuts down on prescription costs,” he said.

“When you’re sick and in pain it’s much more inconvenient to use your own money (for co-pay),” he added. “NU’s pharmacy hours are limited and aren’t the most convenient if you live off campus.”

The Chickering Group became NU’s health insurance administrator in September. Using the company increased the cost of premiums to students by at least $250 per year, compared to annual cost in 2003.

Reach Ashima Singal at [email protected].