Sallie Mae, however, chose to adopt the disparate treatment approach even though it’s using Markel as its underwriter. According to John Fees, president of the Sallie partner Next Generation, it had no choice if it wanted to offer affordable premiums to everyone in the United States and do away with any mental illness hospitalization requirement.

How much more would it have cost to offer equal coverage? “I’m not at liberty to say that at this point,” he said. “It’s a confidential business relationship with Markel.”

Mr. Fees seemed a bit miffed by my suggestion that his policy might be discriminatory on its face. “I live with a clinical psychologist, and I had this conversation with her,” he said. “The aim is never to discriminate against anyone.” When I asked Dana Tufts, Dewar’s president, about the potential for discrimination, his public relations representative, Carmen Duarte, interrupted and refused to let him answer.

Discriminatory or not, it’s possible that Sallie’s policy is actually too generous. The price starts at $599 for the maximum $50,000 in school year coverage for tuition, room, board and other related expenses, with some identity theft and medical evacuation insurance thrown in gratis. The price goes down from there if families want less coverage. Also, undergraduates who borrowed money from Sallie Mae starting July 1 get $5,000 in tuition refund coverage free.

The $599-and-lower premium may be too low given some of the offering’s more liberal terms. For instance, Sallie for now plans to allow people to sign up for coverage after school has already started. Students who are having adjustment problems early on could then sign up with the possibility of withdrawal in mind.

And while the tuition refund policy notes that there is no coverage for an illness that was “active” at the time of enrollment, this generally won’t apply to students who are taking drugs for anxiety or depression. “If you’ve been cleared by a physician to attend because you were strong enough mentally, then it is not an active illness,” said Bill Suneson, who started Next Generation with Mr. Fees.