Son is a new transfer student starting is fall 2015.
We have very good health insurance that covers most services in-network in the Ithaca area, not all.
Pays out of network when not, at a tolerable deductible (to me, compared to the cost of Cornell insurance).
When out of network, pays only 60%, else 80 %. I know the waiver requires 70% coverage, so not sure
what to expect here. Can’t really drop my son since there is a younger sibling still at home, requiring
I put the entire family on our policy. I pay for my son at Cornell whether he uses my plan or not, at least
for his first year there.
Two questions :
Likely to get the waiver given above ?
Should we ask for the waiver ?
Are there huge advantages to having the university coverage?
Our own plan will have some in network docs in Ithaca (I checked), and cover drugs at the Cornell/Gannett center.
Only thing I see is it is out of network for the closest hospital, but other regional hospitals are in network
Also read that the university required fee (without insurance) gives access on campus for basic medical care.
Seems like a waste of $2,000 on the surface.
Ugh. We signed the waiver for this current year for our D who never got sick. …until she got to Cornell. Believe me, it is no fun when a student is sick and might need to go to a tiny unknown hospital 30-50 miles away with no car (with parents across the country). We are stuck with the waiver for the year, but will likely suck it up and pay for the insurance from now on. Your coverage sounds much better than ours though.
Given our plan would cover the Cayuga Med Center out of network, it would cost us some $$ if he has to go
there but when you consider paying $6000 over the next 3 years (transfer student - Soph to Senior years),
and we have a $1000 deductible/$3600 max/year for out of network, can pay the $1k to $3.6k for the local hospital if needed, and come out ahead if that happens once in his 3 years there. Of course if very unlucky having unlimited in network coverage at the closest hospital is the major advantage I can see. Given the coverage we have,
while not quite as good in terms of the hospital as Cornell requires, it’s very close and good enough I would
not ask my son to go to a hospital in another town.
All other services are offered within Ithaca, as far as I can tell.
Having no car would seem to be the limiting factor to using any services in either the Cornell plan
or my own, since anything done off campus will be somewhat of a hassle (when sick).
Anyone get turned down for the waiver and forced to pay ?
We are sucking it up and will pay for SHIP plan, as we live far away from Cornell. Seems to most logical thing to do, although not happy about another $2K
I am a southern California resident currently in a tousle with an out-of-state University regarding this issue. Our request to waive their ‘offer’ of health insurance has now been repeatedly turned down, and we are being ‘forced’ to purchase the University’s health insurance for about $2k a year. This feels like a scam because we have consulted with our own health insurance company regarding how to manage our son’s health care from a distance and they are confident that his coverage will meet his health care needs. Our health care coverage meets ACA requirements, I do not see how the University has the right to (a) Deny our waiver (after all a waiver is a waiver) and (b) Require we buy their health insurance at an exorbitant price (smells of monopoly). I am considering filing a complaint with the State’s Attorney General’s Office. I feel like someone needs to look into this and at least convince us it is not just another money making device for the University.
Note: I read TiggyB62’s comment “…not happy about another $2K”. For us, it is more than just not happy, we were already stretched to the max in figuring out how to pay for college. This could break us. Nothing was mentioned at all about health care requirements when we were given the estimated breakdown of expenses we needed to plan for when we applied. Had we known about the out of area health care requirement, we probably would have chosen a different college, now of course it is too late for this year. The whole things feels so dishonest. :-S
On the flip side, ours was waived last year when D was a freshman, and she got really sick and the nearest contracted hospital was 50 miles away in some tiny town and there were no contracted specialists nearby. It was a bad situation, so we opted to pay this year just for the peace of mind…even though we are more than stretched with 2 in college.
@SDCollegeMom After calling my insurance company and talking to them personally about in-network coverage for my D2, my H and I decided to submit a waiver. I successfully got a waiver from Cornell after researching the in-network providers/hospitals in Ithaca and fortunately our plan complies. On the other hand, my D1, who is at a different very selective university denied us a waiver for the first time. My D1 will be a junior, and up to this point getting a waiver has not been an issue, but I’m sure it has to do with ACA/Obama Care (whatever you want to call it). With two in college, we are stretched to the max for sure, and as I look at the bank balances this morning, I am scratching my head on how to pay this extra fee, especially since our current plan is ACA compliant and there is excellent in-network coverage in the city my D1 goes to college in. My H and I own a small business and our health care premiums have gone up 30% year to year in our state. It’s becoming unaffordable. I understand colleges want kids to be covered and I totally agree, but what I don’t understand is that if all plans need to be ACA compliant, then why are hard-working parents getting denied for a waiver? I appealed the decision and am waiting to hear back. Ugh.
We got the waiver. My ins plan coverage is excellent at home. In Ithaca, they do have in network doctors in the city, but as above, the main hospital nearby is only covered for emergency (ER) visits. For scheduled surgery he would
have to go to a hospital an hour drive away. That said, we live near NYC, and frankly if my S needed something
scheduled to be done, I would prefer to bring him home and have work done in the NYC area. We have the best
medical care in the world (if you have good insurance). I would not want to have him treated at Cayuga unless
an emergency anyway. Even in NYC where he had easy access to medical care, he fought going to doctor appointments If we lived further away I might feel differently.
And then there is the old problem of who pays if you have 2 policies ?
Would really look forward to both insurance policies refusing to pay and insisting the other pays !
I was really debating on whether to put D2 on SHP or stay on my insurance. Cornell’s insurance is better than what I have now (lower deductible etc), but it would cost me an additional $1000, if I don’t have to pay for D2 on my insurance. I then looked into additional dental and vision from Cornell, then the cost is a lot more. Also with $350 mandatory fee, D2 would be able to use Gannett for $10/visit and that included all lab work done on premise. I ended up opting to stay with my current insurance.
I applied for the waiver last Thu and was approved on Mon. I have PPO, so D2 could go in or out of network.
I thought most HMO type of insurance allow you to go out of network when there are no in-network providers available.
It costs a lot more to go out of network. And the out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles are separate from those that are in-network. Squeeze squeeze squeeze.
And the definition of "available"is another issue. What student whose family is accross the country and who is ill and without a car can travel 50 miles to see a doctor? 50 miles is considered acceptable to insurance companies.
The fact is that the Cayuga hospital did not make contracts to be in network with most major health plans,
and only a select few serving Cornell students and other locals. I am sure the health plans would like to have
them on their in network list.
Since my plan covers in network for the ER, I am happy with that.
How often does an 18-22 year old need to go for elective surgery and it can’t
wait until summer or winter break when there is no homework or exams.
If urgent meaning immediate care, I would think many plans cover the local ER.
If you schedule an appointment, I am sure you can rent a zip car or get someone
to drive you if you really can’t wait to be home for a semester break.
A $100-$200 limo ride that would save a $10k-$50k hospital bill is worth the trip.
But to me the question is do I trust any of these hospitals in the area.
There are 2 an hour east and west of Ithaca, no idea how good they are,
nor Cayuga. No matter your insurance, that would be my worry if my kids was sick and
far away, not the insurance.
My daughter is planning to study abroad (Australia) next school year. Our current insurance do not have coverage in Australia except for emergency. SHIP has coverage overseas, I believe. But Australia is requiring foreign students to buy Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) health plan. Is this plan sufficient enough? Any parent that sent their kids to Australia?
I don’t know the answer to your question @2018dad, but you bring up a good point worth considering for my family. If my D studies abroad during the next 4 years, I think I WILL purchase SHIP. Probably a good idea.
My older daughter studied in Sydney for a semester. My insurance covered emergency, but we were required to buy foreign student insurance. D1 was sick few times while she was there. She was well taken care of.
There were few hiccups while my kid was there - from internet coverage to grades. Happy to share if you have any questions, or you could search on some of my posts on CC.
I will definitely check SHIP if my child decides to study abroad.
My waiver was approved within a week and I have in-network 80% and out-of-network 60% coverage. Since this year, we have to pay mandatory $350 fee, I think kids should still be ok going to Ho Plaza for minor stuff. I do not like that their hours are limited but I do like that they have a call service. Challenge I think is - how to get your kid to understand what they need to do IF they have an issue…
Anyone has any idea - how the payments will work for waived insurance? I read that it is pay first- self reimbursement later. SHIP team works with only limited insurance for direct billing. Wondering if anyone has any insight on how this works? Also, any rate sheet for services? I heard some services are cheaper in urgent cares than in Ho Plaza clinic… Anyone knows?
Trust me, you will be the first one your kid calls if he/she has an issue. I am my kid’s concierge.
When your kid goes to Gannett, he/she will be charged $10/visit and for any lab test they could do on premise (like strep testing). If your kid needs to see a doctor or go to a hospital then you will be billed as if he/she is at home. You will not get a bill from Gannett for services provided outside of Gannett.
If we lived further away I might feel differently.