<p>Hi, this is mainly for current upperclassmen:</p>
<p>Has anyone had any success in finding an alternate insurance plan that satisfies the waiver, or does everyone pretty much buy the school's USHIP insurance? Thanks.</p>
<p>I just used my family’s insurance all 4 years, and know a lot of people who did the same. Looking back on it now, I may not have actually had the coverage required to waive - a lot of what my parents assured me I had as part of our plan only applied to treatment in our homestate of Massachusetts, and in that regard there are times I maybe would have been better off with the university plan instead (not USHIP back then, but whatever). But really there was never much of an issue either way, and as my parents kept telling me I had an equally good plan, I kept telling the University I had an equally good plan and received the waiver. I don’t think they look into it all that deeply.</p>
<p>Honestly, the Student Care Center kind of sucks, though - pretty much any time I went in for care, covered or whatever, I left feeling I would have been better off just staying home, especially after numerous debates with the hospital billing department over incorrect fees. There was a survey this spring that discovered over 30% of students trying to schedule an appointment for acute illness or accident had to wait over a week to be seen, 10% of appointments made were canceled without consent or even notification, and - my fave - 1 in 10 students never received their HIV/STD test results. It’s really my only complaint about an otherwise truly fantastic place - I know college medical facilities generally aren’t great, but seriously? we’re part of a great teaching hospital, and I think we should at least be as good as the average awful student health services. But! because of this and other recent surveys, it looks like they’re working to remedy these issues - I think USHIP is part of the start of that, with more to come. So maybe you’ll be able to get reasonable aid by the time you’re there.</p>
<p>(extra fun: check out the survey results yourself: <a href=“http://ihc.uchicago.edu/Docs/Docs/IHC_SCCReport.pdf[/url]”>http://ihc.uchicago.edu/Docs/Docs/IHC_SCCReport.pdf</a> )</p>
<p>Mathgrad, it probably wasn’t this way a few years ago, but USHIP is now up to $2,050 per year. From looking at other health policies, it certainly isn’t worth that. It’s really a bit ridiculous for the university to require top-notch coverage for young and healthy college students, but that’s what they do. This is why we’re trying to find alternate plans.</p>
<p>Sorry, I sort of got lost in the rant about the SCC - my main point was that if you’ve got health insurance, they’re probably not going to look too hard at what that actually covers. I even know someone who went uninsured and just lied about having a policy. If you’re happy with your coverage, you probably can just tell them you’re good and request a waive. It’s always been ridiculously priced, if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>Well I only hope they’re as lenient now. Thanks for the input, though.</p>
<p>My D had some significant health care needs during her time at UofC. SCC always did a decent job. </p>
<p>One needs to watch our for HMO style health plans because part of their model is built on a network panel of care givers. Even with a PPO style plan, the costs of going out of network can be prohibitive. This all argues for doing some homework in advance. For instance, many Blue Cross HMO plans can use a nationwide network of cooperating blues for students that are out of state. But this should be explored in advance, preferably before you need care. </p>
<p>The process is easy. Call the plan using the number on the back of your insurance card, and discuss your situation with a plan rep. With speakerphones that 30 minute wait should be painless…</p>