Health Insur. while in college

<p>Curious what you have done? Do your students stay on your policy or is there ususally a cheaper/better option through their university?</p>

<p>It’s usually cheaper and better to stay on the parents’ policy.</p>

<p>Our kids have stayed on our plan but our plan has national coverage. If you are on an HMO and your child is going to school out of your area, you may want to look into an individual plan that works with providers around their college. Usually the plans through the universities do not have very good coverage, often they are per incident deductibles and have low lifetime limits(although with health reform that is changing).</p>

<p>Kids on parents’ policy unless there aren’t any service providers from parents’ coverage where the university is located.</p>

<p>Health ins is cheaper (and probably better) on your policy, dental though is really cheap thru the college ($62/year for our S).</p>

<p>No way to get a generic answer on this. You really need to compare the specific options you have.</p>

<p>On our policy. ”Family” policy is the same price whether it’s covering 2 people or 10. Now, if you can go down to a single person policy, especially if the premiums are paid by the employer, you might come out ahead to buy the kid a separate policy through the school.</p>

<p>Agree it will depend on your current coverage and what school child attends. We have an HMO that will only cover emergencies out of area, but both older children have a college health center they can use for a fee. (We did not buy the college insurance policy.) Oldest D made it through 4 years only going to the health center once for a strep infection ($50 for strep test and antibiotic), and once for a vaccine before travel abroad. I can’t remember the last time I had S to the doctor for illness, and he did not need to use his school health center freshman year. Both kids are 4 hours away, which I could drive if they needed me to get there for a health issue. If youngest goes farther away for college, I might consider buying additional health coverage.</p>

<p>It’s really important to look at what the college requires before making any decisions. At our two colleges, you cannot waive participation in the mandatory insurance scheme unless your personal coverage is “comparable” to the school’s coverage. One school’s definition of “comparable” was pretty liberal. The other school presented an extremely picky list of required coverages to be comparable, and of course, our policy wasn’t an exact match. The price differential was going to be $1,983, and this on top of having to pay a $284 quarterly student health center fee. Ouch! It really rubbed me the wrong way that they trusted us to pay their exorbitant tuition yet didn’t trust us to adequately insure our personal health risks. I got no relief going through proper channels, so enlisted the campus ombudsman. The issue was satisfactorily resolved, and it was neat to learn about that person’s role on campus.</p>

<p>We opted out of the school’s one as well, although we did have to supply proof of insurance. This is something the colleges would rather have you accept, so typically, the default is to add the insurance right into your bill. It’s up to you to opt out.</p>

<p>I just talked to our insurance agent (health policies) about this and she pointed out that I should check the maximum benefits on the school’s policy. I thought the school’s policy had better coverage until I realized that they max out at $500,000. God forbid, your child has some emergency…So I kept him on ours.</p>

<p>My son’s school actually requires you fill out a waiver to opt out of their health insurance policy or they automatically will bill you. They then research your policy coverage and email you back whether your policy meets their requirements.</p>

<p>We opted out of the school’s policy except when DD2 went abroad for a semester and had to take their policy during that time.</p>

<p>Our D’s U also requires you complete paperwork to opt out & prove your kiddo has insurance. Good to compare and be SURE as to what coverage each policy DOES and DOES NOT provide–surprises for insurance are generally BAD. One of our friends had D with an HMO that didn’t have facilities close to campus. She had a medical emergency & was rushed to a hospital that was outside the HMO & they ended up with a HUGE bill!</p>

<p>Other things to think about if you remove your kid from your coverage and purchase a school-based policy: does the school policy cover your child if they’re home over summer vacation? Will you be able to add your child back on to your policy if needed (e.g. if your kid leaves school before graduation, or becomes seriously ill)? If you can add your child back on to your policy, is that a benefit that will remain in place regardless of what happens with the Affordable Care Act?</p>

<p>Another thing to consider: keeping your student on the family insurance gives them the right to stay on your plan until age 26. If your student does not have a job immediately after graduation, or has a job without benefits, s/he will still have health insurance.</p>

<p>My oldest had both ankles operated on while in college, had numerous bouts with bronchitis and pneumonia, and needed ambulance transport during an asthma attack. The school’s insurance would not have covered much of that. The youngest has been pretty much healthy but also needed ambulance transport to a hospital after fainting while shadowing a doctor - he treated the cut on her face but thought she should have bloodwork, and an xray since she whomped her head pretty well on the way to the floor.</p>

<p>We also had to opt out of the schools, and we have to do it every year. Cost wise the schools policy was around $2600 a year and it cost us nothing extra to keep our S on ours.</p>

<p>While our employer-sponsored plan doesn’t have any in-network providers in my older daughter’s area, they do allow for an away at school status which pays 80% of charges at the out-of-network facilities. She’s close enough to “home” that she can take care of preventive care here, but emergencies happen. </p>

<p>We have to sign a waiver at the start of every year to get out of the college coverage. </p>

<p>Oh - when you move your child into school, take the time to scope out the closest walk-in clinic. If the college health center is closed on the weekend, and many are, knowing in advance where to go will save a bundle in time, money & anxiety.</p>

<p>If your child has any pre-existing conditions, that can be an issue with new college plans.</p>

<p>If you are not part of a large employer group, the school’s plan can be a LOT less expensive, with decent coverage. You can get a private rider from your health insurance agent. We own our own small business, D will have comparable coverage for a LOT less money, be covered during vacations, etc. We are considering a rider for extra-ordinary medical costs (our agent is not recommending this, but knows that it’s an “I can sleep at night” issue for me). Each family/university/state has different issues/costs/regulations so this seems like an area of very individual decisions.</p>