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Cal Poly’s Campus Health and Wellbeing (CH&W) has joined California’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative Reimbursement Program, a move intended to broaden on-campus mental health services and ease pressure on overstretched counseling resources. The shift comes as demand for student mental health care has surged, and administrators say the program will expand services without adding out-of-pocket costs for students or revealing care details to family plan holders.
Why this matters now
Between 2017 and 2025, counseling visits at campuses across California rose roughly 70% while the student population grew only about 3%, according to the state initiative’s data. That imbalance has left many universities scrambling to provide timely care; joining the reimbursement program gives CH&W a new revenue stream to scale capacity and pilot preventive programs.
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How the program will change services at Cal Poly
Under the initiative — run by the California Department of Health Care Services and the California Health and Human Services Agency — state-regulated insurers can reimburse CH&W for eligible on-campus behavioral health services. Administrators say that funding will be used to widen screening, add wellbeing programs and support faster access to care.
- Expanded screening: earlier identification of students needing support.
- New wellbeing programs: prevention and resilience-focused offerings beyond traditional counseling.
- No cost-sharing: the program will not require co-payments or deductibles for students or their families.
- Open to all: students without private insurance remain eligible for services covered by the campus health fee.
- Privacy protections: insurance policyholders will not receive claim details about services provided to students.
| Feature | What it means for students |
|---|---|
| State reimbursement | Additional funding to hire staff and sustain programs |
| No co-pays or deductibles | Care delivered without added financial burden for students or supporters |
| Privacy safeguards | Insurers will not see service-level claims tied to individual students |
University spokesperson Keegan Koberl said CH&W’s enrollment in the initiative is intended to respond to changing student needs and strengthen on-campus capacity. “This participation lets us broaden our services while protecting student confidentiality and directing reimbursement dollars back into campus care,” Koberl said.
Cal Poly asks students who have California-based health plans to submit their insurance information to CH&W to enable reimbursements. Detailed instructions are available on the Health and Counseling portal’s initiative page. Officials emphasized that students who do not carry insurance will continue to access services through the campus health fee, and no one will face billing for covered visits under this program.
All revenue generated through the program will be reinvested in CH&W to expand clinic hours, develop new preventive programs and shorten wait times, university leaders say. For students, the practical outcome aims to be faster access to care, a wider range of support options and sustained privacy protections.
