Health Partners names Campus Health primary care provider.

The Campus Health Center is now a primary health care provider for HealthPartners Insurance of Arizona, one of the largest medical insurance provider in the state, a HealthPartners official said.

"It's an option to the existing HealthPartners network," said Elizabeth McNamee, HealthPartners' vice president of corporate development and government affairs.

The recent approval means more than 5,000 students with HealthPartners insurance won't have to leave campus for routine check-ups or procedures like getting fitted for a cast, said Joyce Meder, clinical administrator for the Campus Health Center.

"The most common problem students have with their HMO coverage is that as they get out of their area the company will not pay for outpatient visits," she explained.

This forces many students who don't call Tucson their hometown to return home for health care if they want coverage for the service, McNamee said.

The approval brings the Campus Health Center into the ranks of more than 300 approved primary care providers for HealthPartners, however, only University of Arizona students may select the Campus Health Center as their primary care provider, she added.

The decision doesn't affect the low-cost CampusCare insurance option which the UA has offered for more than three years, McNamee said. Although HealthPartners also administers CampusCare, it is a separate product specifically designed for students without insurance.

"With CampusCare you must go to Campus Health - it's your only option," she said.

Once students change their primary care provider to a Tucson-based group, they may be seen locally.

The switch may be made with a phone call to HealthPartners' member services department, McNamee said.

She cautioned to make sure they need to switch, as they may only have one primary care provider.

"The only difficulty is when you go back to your hometown your primary care provider is back in Tucson - you can't have two primary health care providers," she said.

Meder said many students welcomed the option of switching to campus health service.

"It's where they like to come. It gives them quality service and it's easily accessible," she said. "You don't have to get in a bus or car and ride all over town."

One student using the low-cost CampusCare service said the new option could make her life easier.

Electrical engineering freshman Kate Tyldesley said convenience would be the biggest draw.

"It's fairly useful for me because I don't have a car," she said.