You’ve done all you could to prepare your child for college. You’ve set rules, stated guidelines and communicated your expectations. You’ve done your best; you’ve covered all the bases. Or have you?
Identifying Misconceptions
When it comes to sending their child off to college, many parents make the all too common mistake of assuming that their child will be covered under their health policy—and that their coverages and benefits will be the same while they’re away at college.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Many insurers still cover dependents until age 23, but many are terminating dependent coverage sooner—some as young as age 18. Furthermore, college students that attend school out-of-state may not receive all their benefits or may be charged additional fees for seeing physicians out of the insurer’s network.
So what’s a parent to do?
The Good News
Fortunately, if a student isn’t fully covered on a parent’s health insurance plan, there are affordable alternatives.
Generally speaking, college students and their parents tend to seek health plans from one of three places: the student’s college, a private health insurer or other student organizations.
The majority of colleges and universities now offer student health insurance for their attendants, which often consist of two or three policy options. While traditionally less expensive, the costs and coverages of university-sponsored health plans tend to be more fixed, which may not meet needs of students with pre-existing conditions.
Surprisingly, private health insurance for students is fairly inexpensive. Private health insurance is an especially attractive option for parents and students because it typically covers a wider range of benefits. Your chances of snagging discounts are also greater if you buy a student policy from a private insurer.
Other student health plans are available through student-help organizations like the American College Student Association (ACSA). Organizations like ACSA specialize in short-term health insurance and study abroad coverage, which is especially appealing to students wishing to travel.
Tips to Remember
Making sure the student in your life has adequate health insurance is important. As you ask questions and shop for health plans, consider the following tips:
Know the student’s needs. Does the student have allergies? A need for travel vaccines? Knowing what your student needs ahead of time will help narrow your policy options.
Know how long the student needs the coverage. Many insurers allow you to purchase policies that last anywhere from three months to a year—determine how long the student will need the policy to avoid paying for extra coverage.
Compare multiple policies. More health insurance options mean more options to save. Don’t forget to compare policy benefits, deductibles and limitations while searching for cheap health insurance.
Don’t skimp on major medical. Before buying a student health policy, make sure it covers major medical expenses. The cheapest policy in the world won’t save you money if it doesn’t cover major medical expenses!
Lessons Learned
Whether you’re a student yourself, or a parent seeking health insurance for a student, it’s important to understand that health insurance is an important part of staying healthy in college. Use the tips above to help you find the best—and the cheapest—student health insurance policy!
By: Megan Mahan
Posts Tagged ‘Health Policy’
Why is Health Insurance Very Important?
October 27th, 2009
It has been said that life is very unpredictable and there is a lot of truth to that saying. There are people who are very healthy, fall sick suddenly and then discover that they got a critical illness. There are people who are very careful in everything they do, including on the road, but, got knock by other careless driver and ended up lying in hospital for months. These cases happen every now and then and we all know what follows next: the huge medical fee.
Are you prepared for it?
All along, people think health insurance as an option; you can live with or without it. Well, the truth is, you can’t ignore it, it is very important to have health insurance, especially with the high rising medical cost in recent years. If you don’t have any health insurance coverage, when the times comes where you need to receive medical attention or services, you will have to pay the entire fee from your own pocket and that can be a huge financial burden. If it is a serious illness, that can means several thousand dollars and are you prepare for it or in simple terms, do you have the financial ability to pay for it?
Again, some people think that they are health and strong and won’t get any illness easily. That’s a very risky thought because really, nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. There is too much uncertainty about life, that’s why people said life is unpredictable.
What is health insurance and how it helps you?
The purpose of health insurance is to protect and cover you financially when it comes to medical fee. The way it works is similar to other insurance like the life or auto insurance: you pay a sum of money to the insurance company monthly or yearly and they will help to pay your medical cost at a predetermined principal sum up to a limit.
Usually, the first thing that comes to one’s mind when he or she falls sick is the concern about the medical cost. Now, if you have a health insurance policy, you can be assured that there is something you can fall back on. You just need to concentrate to recover from your illness and don’t have to worry about how much you have incurred on your medical fee as majority of the cost will be covered by the insurance company.
Having a health insurance policy is very crucial as nobody knows when one will fall sick. Preparing yourself for the uncertainty will be very beneficial.
By: Lora Haig
