Information for Parents
Health care at Butler focuses on maximizing students' wellbeing;
we help students manage illnesses, we provide immunizations, we
help them manage stress, and we consult on the adoption of healthy
habits. While students are striving to meet their academic
and extracurricular goals, we serve as an additional resource.
In order to meet your student's healthcare needs, Butler
provides a conveniently located clinic on campus. We are housed
adjacent to Counseling and Consultation Services on the south end
of the Health and Recreation Complex (HRC). Care is provided by RNs
and a full-time and part-time physician. Students will be required
to call and make an appointment to be seen although we do our
best to accommodate walk ins.
If your student has a chronic illness for which they need
regular medical care, we encourage you to maintain follow up with
their usual physician. If that is not practical, we advise you to
find a physician located in the Indianapolis area that will be able
to support your student's needs. Please call if you would like
assistance in finding an appropriate local physician.
Students are required to have an up-to-date student health
record on file with us; they are also required to have health
insurance. See other areas of our website for specific information
about the available student health insurance
plan. If your student is on your insurance policy, please
check your policy and benefits to make sure there is coverage while
they are at school.
Our goal is to maximize your health insurance benefits. We keep
our costs as low as possible but we do collect co-pays and bill
residual charges to students. Charges to see our doctor and nurses
at Butler Health Services are significantly less than what is
charged at local urgent care clinics. But, even more importantly,
we build relationships with students and provide high-quality,
consistent care during your student's entire Butler career. Our
scope of care is broad enough to cover routine health concerns. If
something falls beyond our scope of care, we refer to off-campus
providers.
Here are some ways for us to partner in the health
insurance endeavor:
- Educate your student before they come to campus this
fall on the basics about your family plan. If he/she is signed
up for the University offered plan, talk through how to use it. In
either case, students need to know if there is a co-pay and what it
is, if there is a deductable and how it figures in, and if you have
a preferred provider or need to be conscious of a health care
network.
- Send them to campus with a copy of their health insurance
card.
- Pre-identify the Indianapolis hospitals/specialists that are in
your network.
- If you are a part of a Point of Service (POS) plan, a
referral form may need to be completed by their
primary care physician (PCP), which will allow us to seek
reimbursement for services. This advance leg work can alleviate
confusion and help you to more fully use your plan.
- If you are part of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO),
your plan may not cover your student while they attend this
university. Contact your insurance company to see if they
will allow your student to switch their PCP to our physician for
the academic year.
It can be upsetting when your student calls home to tell you
they are feeling ill. We understand your concern and your desire to
help. Please know we will do all we can to assist them. If your
student is over the age of 18 we are constrained about sharing
health information directly with you due to the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") as well as the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"). Students are able to
sign a release giving us authorization to share their health
information and status with you. Only then will we be able to
discuss with you any aspect of the care they received at the
BUHS. In Indiana these releases are valid for up to 60 days
at a time.
Feel free to contact our staff if an issue arises that you feel
needs attention.