McPherson College/Vivature Partnership FAQ’s

  1. Why is McPherson College partnering with Vivature?
  2. Due to rising costs in every healthcare setting McPherson College is partnering with Vivature to help offset the costs associated with maintaining the healthcare of our student-athletes.
  1. What will this money from charging insurance be used for at the college?
  2. This intention for this money is to help with staffing in the Athletic Training room and to help offset the costs of insurance to the student-athlete.
  1. Will I need to pay anything out of pocket?
  2. There will never be a requirement for money to come out of the pocket of either you or your student-athlete.
  1. Will this make my insurance premium go up?
  2. The short answer to this question is no. The longer answer to this question is that health insurance is not like auto insurance and influenced by injuries on a person by person basis. Health insurance premiums are based on “pools” of people (ex. 28 year old, married, healthy people are in a “pool” or all the employees of the same employer, like all employees at McPherson College, are in the same “pool”). The monthly or annual premiums are based on how much those “pools” of people use their insurance, average age of the “pool” and other factors. So while this program will “tap into” this insurance pool it will have virtually zero effect on insurance premiums.
  1. What happens if my insurance doesn’t agree to make a payment?
  2. If an insurance company denies a claim then nothing will happen.
  1. Is there any benefit for my family and I?
  2. The primary benefit for you and your family is a chance to reduce your own medical bills at home. The simple explanation is that when a student comes into the Athletic Training room and utilizes a qualifying service, say the GameReady machine, McPherson College will charge and pay for the deductible that is normally charged like if you went to the doctor. That means that if your deductible is $1000 and the GameReady session cost $100, McPherson College will charge and pay for the $100 since that amount would normally be paid by you and your family as the deductible. Finally, this means that your deductible for your current insurance plan would now be $900. If enough qualifying services are performed in the Athletic Training room it would eventually completely fulfill your deductible for the year.
  1. Is this legal?
  2. The supervising physician has been thoroughly vetting this process over the span of the last 6 months and has determined that all of the legality of the process is within current state and federal law standards. Vivature has partnered with over 300 colleges and universities, including D-I schools like Penn State, VCU and the University of Tennessee system. They also have worked with Kansas schools like Pittsburg State, Kansas Wesleyan, Southwestern, Tabor and Newman just to name a few. As of the date of this publication there have been no known instances of legal challenge to the current system.