In a Chicago winter, coughing, sneezing, a runny nose and a sore throat is expected. But when home is far away and it’s time to consult a doctor, students must find a new solution. For DePaul students, SAGE Medical is the obvious, but not always best, choice.

In the case of minor illness, students who pay $60 a quarter for the DePaul Health Services Plan are referred to SAGE Medical Group, located in a shared-use building in the Lincoln Park Campus. Additional fees to the plan apply to physical exams and HIV testing, and services requiring referral to a specialist and “care of ongoing illness beyond the covered conditions described” are not offered, as outlined in the DePaul Health Services brochure.

DePaul senior Katie Hutches visited SAGE during her freshman year because she had a bumps in the back of my throat, making it hard for her to swallow. Despite the coverage from her parents’ private insurance, Hutches went to nearby SAGE Medical because she felt too ill to travel any further.

“(My doctor said) nothing was wrong with me and sent me on my way,” Hutches said.

“Then I went to (my normal doctor) … and finally ended up on antibiotics that were almost impossible to swallow because the bumps only got larger after my experience at SAGE.”

According to the brochure, students with private insurance are treated as new patients. “During busy times (SAGE Medical is) not able to accommodate new patients,” it says.

A popular complaint among students and residents is the long wait to see a doctor, with or without an appointment. Hutches visited again to avoid steep hospital prices and ran into this issue.

“The nurse practitioner was an hour late to my appointment, and I was her first appointment for the day,” she said.

Betsy Montgomery, a DePaul senior and SAGE patient, recalls that she once waited for an hour to see her doctor after scheduling an appointment. But despite the waiting time, Montgomery complimented SAGE.

“They (were) receptive to my questions and did thorough examinations,” she said. Montgomery has been treated for bronchitis and upper respiratory infections at SAGE.

In October of 2012, DePaul sex education was under scrutiny from DePaulia writer Margaret Thompson, who highlighted the university’s poor response to sex education needs and emphasized the absence of free HIV testing at SAGE Medical.

When questioned about “reproductive counseling,” a service covered by the DePaul Plan, a secretary at SAGE Medical emphasized that SAGE treated students, as well as residents, and that advice given by doctors would remain unbiased.

DePaul senior Ali Kaspar, however, said her doctor had a “condescending attitude” when she tried to get several STD tests performed. Kaspar said her doctor wouldn’t let her run more than two STD tests.

“She called me paranoid,” said Kaspar. “It made me feel like a terrible person for even being in there in the first place. I was just trying to be safe and go according to women’s health like I should be, I think.”

Kaspar did not have health insurance, so she paid for DePaul Health coverage.

“I was broke and didn’t have any money to go anywhere,” she said.

In another instance, SAGE assured Kaspar that her tonsils were not infected with bronchitis, but two days later they were so swollen that Kaspar had difficulty eating and breathing. She was forced to drive herself to the ER, uninsured, and is still paying off the fees from the hospital.

“I slightly hold DePaul responsible because they should be taking better care of their students,” Kaspar said.

Faizan Khan, a front desk assistant that spoke on behalf of the Dean of Students’ office, said the only complaints they received from students relate to being automatically charged for the SAGE services after they drop it. Khan had not heard anything about wrong diagnoses or long wait times.