Bakersfield College students who receive the board of governors fee waiver (BOGFW) may need to take an aspirin when they hear that BC’s Health Center will be charging them $14 for fall and spring semesters and $11 for summer semesters.

Without this new charge, BC’s Health Center would be gone in two years. “We (BC) have no choice,” Dean of Students Don Turney said.

This charge has not been officially passed, but the issue is set to be targeted for the district board meeting in March, Turney said. When this charge is approved by the district board members, BOGFW students will pay their health center fees at the business office.

“There is no question that BC will charge BOGFW students, but because of this charge , the Health Center will stay open along with expanded services here and in Delano,” Turney said.

“I understand that this may be a financial hardship, but look at it this way: It’s still a pretty good deal.”

A student pays $14 no more than one time and can see our doctor 15 times or 100 times. This is the best deal on campus.”

Turney said a few visits to a regular doctor for a condition such as pneumonia might cost $500.

This charge is the result of the State Assembly Legislature passing Assembly Bill 982, which gives community colleges the power to implement a charge for their health center services. The power went into effect in January. “We (BC) wanted to prepare people for this – we didn’t want to just spring it on them,” Turney said.

Enrollment in community colleges has been down, and the state budget has been looking pretty bleak and community colleges all across the state are facing financial constraints, Turney said.

Turney said lots of community colleges started charging the additional health care fee Jan. 1. The City College of San Francisco and L.A. Community College District among other community colleges closed their health care centers and now will be able to open again because they can charge BOGFW students.

For some time now, Turney said, Cerro Coso College’s and Porterville College’s Health Care Centers were “just band-aid distributors.” Many community colleges faced the prospect of either firing faculty and reducing class offerings or shutting down their health centers.

Turney said BC was losing $70,000 a year just on the Health Center itself and could not collect health care fees from BOGFW students.

Two-thirds of BC’s 15,000 students receive BOGFW and one-third do not, he said. The one-third was carrying the entire college, he said.