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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 20, 1992                   TAG: 9201200061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW HAVEN, CONN.                                LENGTH: Short

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STUDENTS GET AIDS INSURANCE

Joseph Choo worries about the danger of contracting AIDS from a patient. Now, the third-year medical student at Yale University knows he won't be left destitute if that happens.

The medical school and several others around the country are buying extra insurance to cover students exposed to the deadly disease.

"Every day when I go out on the wards, I think about the risk. Now, if by some horrible accident something happens, I know I'm covered," said Choo, 24, of Boston. "It gives you a measure of comfort and peace of mind."

Last year, Yale became the nation's first medical school to provide students with disability insurance protecting them against the risk of AIDS and other health hazards they face.

New York University, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor are among a half-dozen other schools that insure their medical students or will soon provide coverage, said the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Nearly half the nation's 126 accredited medical schools could have disability plans in place by fall.

Under the plans, students are automatically eligible. No medical tests or questions are required. Students can pick up the premiums after they graduate and increase coverage to protect their increased earning potential, even if they have already been infected with the AIDS virus.

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