DURANGO—Fort Lewis College Student Health Center is now an accredited Colorado Medicaid provider, allowing students to access all FLC Student Health Center services at no out-of-pocket cost.
“We want our students to be able to focus on being a student, and this is one more step towards eliminating barriers some of our students face,” said Jeff Dupont, dean of Student Engagement. “Being able to take Medicaid at our Student Health Center ensures all of our students can access the healthcare they need.”
Students who have signed up for Medicaid won’t have any out-of-pocket costs for healthcare at the Student Health Center and will be able to use Medicaid for their prescriptions at accredited local pharmacies. Mental health services —which are provided to students for free— will not be affected.“It’s all about accessibility,” said Rene Klotz, director of the FLC Student Health Center, adding the accreditation process is arduous and required the College to implement electronic medical records for students. “This change will help our students access insurance-covered health care on campus and will also help out-of-state students on Medicaid temporarily transfer their coverage seamlessly to Colorado.”
Administrators believe about a third of the College’s 3,400 students could qualify. Those with healthcare through the Indian Health Service also qualify for Colorado Medicaid.
FLC Basic Needs Coordinator Stella Zhu has been working with AXIS and the La Plata County Public Health Department to provide students with healthcare navigators to help them sign up for Medicaid. She said the process is simple and allows qualifying students to scaffold their parents’ health insurance and/or IHS with Medicaid.
FLC students can check their eligibility or get help through a Medicaid eligibility navigator provided through the College’s Basic Needs Services Grub Hub.
FLC Student Health Center