About this Indicator
This indicator uses data from the Healthy Minds Study survey to show the percentage of students reporting any of the following sources of current health insurance coverage: an individual plan directly from an insurance carrier or through an international student sponsoring agency, parent/guardian or their employer, spouse’s employer, own employer, student plan, Medicaid or other governmental insurance, or no insurance. Sources of health insurance are presented for students ages 18 to 25 and 26 or older.
As colleges and universities work to strengthen mental health services, understanding students’ patterns of health insurance coverage is increasingly important for identifying where service gaps may emerge. Health insurance status influences whether students can access care, how much they pay out-of-pocket, and which providers are available to them. Age is a particularly important factor: as students turn 26 and lose coverage under a parent’s plan, many shift to Medicaid, institutional student plans, employer-based coverage, or in some cases, forgo insurance altogether. Tracking these changes, especially among adult learners, can help institutions assess insurance adequacy, affordability, and provider network access for mental health services.
Data Source
Healthy Minds Network. Healthy Minds Study - Student Survey.
Note. Students who selected “I am uncertain about whether I have health insurance” or “I have health insurance but am uncertain about where it is from” were omitted from this indicator. The sum of item percentages may exceed 100% as students were able to select multiple sources. Institutional participation in the HMS is voluntary, self-selected, and periodic, leading to variation in representation across sectors, states, and time. As a result, estimates derived from the HMS survey reflect conditions at specific participating institutions rather than institutions across the entire Midwest or nation. In 2024, 12,689 public four-year students responded to the survey, representing twelve public four-year institutions across six Midwest states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ohio.
This indicator was developed as part of a collaboration between MHEC and the Healthy Minds Network.