Students will save $31 on their health insurance next year if an administrator has her way.

Barbara Henley, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, announced Tuesday that she will ask the Board of Regents to cut student health insurance from $281.66 per year to $250.48. The cut would be an 11 percent decrease.

The BOR governs NIU, Sangamon State University in Springfield and Illinois State University in Normal. Henley said she does not think the recommendation will have any problems passing the Regents.

Henley added that a price drop next year would be the only one in nine years. That last decrease, which was 4 percent, was in the 1984-85 school year.

“We are elated about the possibility of offering a health insurance plan at a lower rate,” Henley said.

Every student is automatically charged with insurance every semester, but it can be refunded if the student is already covered by another policy. Money can be refunded only at the beginning of the Fall semester, Henley said.

In a memo to The Northern Star, the drop in price is a sharp contrast to the upward trend around the nation.

Rising prices come from more claims, more students getting a refund on insurance and the high cost of health care in the Chicago area, the memo said.

Henley said she wants to save money for the insurance companies by making sure students are using the insurance for necessary operations.

“When the insurance companies save money, the money can be passed on to students,” Henley said.

Ways to reduce insurance costs are a result of a “definite partnership between students and the division of Student Affairs,” Henley said.

She also announced even better news that she is recommending a drop in rates for spouses (20 percent) and children (24 percent) of students.