<p>Always best to check NOW and reconfirm annually, so no expensive surprises. College kids can rack up huge bills. One friend’s D needed emergency surgery for torn ACL, his S ended up on crutches at different U. Another friend’s D got emergency appendectomy! Stuff happens, so figure out options now and plan accordingly. </p>
<p>Insurers change policy terms, so reconfirm understandings annually.</p>
<p>The CVS minute clinics are great! We use them primarily for our yearly flu shots. Unfortunately there is no minute clinic at the CVS nearest the school.</p>
<p>Keep the home town primary care physician. The only Beloit clinic visits will be for urgent/emergency care. Check to see which ones may be in your policy. Check for away from area rules for your insurance as well. Most college students don’t need medical care at school if otherwise healthy. Madison is 50 or so miles north and Janesville much closer in WI. </p>
<p>btw- I presume you have checked out flights into O’Hare and taking a bus to Beloit for trips home. There is a good bus service that makes the trip to both Beloit and Madison schools.</p>
<p>Both of my daughters have kept their local doctors. One is about 75 miles away, the other around 225 miles. We talked with the plan administrator and even though our insurance isn’t supposed to cover out of network, because they are away at school they get “special” treatment. They are allowed to go to a doctor in the area if necessary & we cover 20%. Considering that we were pretty sure that they wouldn’t be covered at all, we don’t mind.</p>
<p>When you drop off the kid, besides making sure that they actually brought the insurance card with them, take a drive around the area and find the closest urgent care/doc in a box. Take down the hours and the phone number. Find a real ER while you’re at it and maybe a 24-hr pharmacy. Give a copy to the kid and keep a copy for yourself. When the kid calls crying at 2am because their throat hurts/fever/vomiting/etc, you can pull out the handy numbers and direct them to the doc. </p>
<p>For whatever reason, illness never seems so bad during normal health center hours. It’s always at 7pm or later. We’ve had bad sprains, pleurisy, migraines, sinus infections. One trip to the ER and multiple doc visits (for one daughter, anyway. The other is remarkably healthy.)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information. When I called the HMO previously, I spoke to the person who answered the phone who simply said emergency room visits would be covered. I’ll call again and speak to someone higher up to see if there are special circumstances for a college student living away from home. It’s ridiculous but I scoured the plan’s website last night and could not find any written documentation regarding coverage beyond the basic out of network providers will cost more money.</p>
<p>Try to have them send you a response in writing, so you have something to work with, just in case your kiddo may need medical treatment in college and there is a dispute about company’s and benefits.</p>
<p>reeinaz:
I would suggest that you call your pediatrician or medical group for suggestions or what they’ve had other families do, and ask them how it would work. </p>
<p>Then, I would contact your employer’s HR department; they buy the contracts from the medical providers and can explain some of it. If they blow you off and refer you back to the HMO, then become a little assertive and say: “when is the next employee information session?”</p>
<p>Contact the HMO again (via all modalities-email, fax, and written letters) and on the phone: and before they transfer you to another department, ask them which specific page, on their internet site, provides the exact coverages and amounts for your family. </p>
<p>My husband’s employer provides a personal insurance page for each employee, with each family member listed and each cost and which services are provided-it is about 8 printed pages; this is the copy that we gave to DD, and told her to put in her important papers file in her college desk.</p>
<p>Remember that YOUR wages are paying for the HMO’s medical coverage. You are the paying customer and are paying for a service, usually this is a high amount for dependents. Your HR department can always change HMO providers if enough employees make their needs known. </p>
<p>GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>If the ER is covered, it would seem logical that hospital would be covered if admitted through the ER. I would ask about that.</p>
<p>With the school clinic and the ER, it seems as if all will be well, while keeping the home doc, but it’s great you are looking ahead.</p>