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One way UVA will collect on students is by putting a hold on their student accounts until the sum is paid in full. I know, because it happened to me. I owed 2600 dollars in medical bills after seeking treatment for a mental health emergency. https://twitter.com/ebrasac/status/1275142162209005571">https://twitter.com/ebrasac/s...
After the emergency, I decided to withdraw from my program to focus on recovery. I did not get a job immediately because, if you have ever experienced something similar, getting the right therapist is a full time job in and of itself.
It was at four months that I was able to work and pay the bill. You can imagine my surprise when the balance was gone, and I got a notification from SFS that my account was on hold. I asked if I could have the balance put on a payment plan, and the answer was no.
IN ADDITION: As a result of my medical withdraw, the feds took away loan money. UVA then required me to make up the difference. That was to the tune of ~$2000. Mind you, these were fees for services that I was no longer able to utilize, yet was still required to pay for.
I ended up working 12 hrs a day, 5 days a week, and sometimes on the weekends in order to pay my debt. In the end, it was only with the help of my parents and grandparents that I was able to re-enroll. I certainly could have done better, but UVA can as well.
They can start by not barring students from completing their degrees because of medical costs they could not avoid. Luckily, I had a bachelors. But how is an undergrad, with minimal (or even a lot) of family support supposed to pay off multi thousand $ debt when min wage is 7.25?
They can then continue by making financial aid easier to apply for, and instituting things like automatic enrollment in e-billing (in addition to mail) and text reminders.
Lastly, they can institute tuition/fee forgiveness for those who medically withdraw. Slapping people with a bill like that incentivizes people to not take care of themselves when that’s the only thing they should be doing. It’s not that hard. We can do better.
