My CareFirst Blue Cross plan only covers us within about a 50-mile radius except for emergency room visits. I’m now facing the reality of possibly having to buy health insurance on campus for D, who will be a freshman next year. One school will be close enough, but the others not, so now I’m trying to figure out approximately what this costs and if it’s worth it to add on top of the insurance she already has.
Call the colleges. Most bill it unless there is proof of insurance, so they will know the amounts.
Our family insurance covers urgent care as well as emergency room visits out of area, though the policy summary only mentions emergency room. Found out when I was talking to a rep on the phone. There is an urgent care center right at edge of D’s campus with extended hours. Also our prescription coverage is national.
At D’s school there are 2 options. There is a ‘bridge plan’ that isn’t really insurance but for $130/semester reduces the cost of campus health care so visits= $10, x-rays= $20, and other services similarly inexpensive. But no coverage for any specialized off campus care.
The other option is Aetna student health. $1000 for fall and $1500 for spring/summer. Have to buy summer if you want spring. Not the best policy. $500/yr deductible + 20% or $25-35 copays. They provide student health ins for a large number of campuses.
You can usually find detailed info online at each college’s website, if they run a decent website.
Most of them are $1500-2500 per year. I thought about getting my daughters’ through their schools because we are on a very expensive COBRA, but then we’d have 3 deductibles, 3 sets of rules.
I thought mine covered urgent care as well, but I found that out the hard way when my D got very sick on trip to California last summer. I spent $400 on urgent care and prescriptions, and they covered none of it. Right now, her favorite school is actually probably close enough to work with our insurance, but it’s also the most expensive school. But not needing insurance would effectively reduce the total cost of attendance.
We will be dealing with insurance issues too next year. DD will be going to professional school out of state. Her current anthem policy here won’t cover her in other states in network. The schools require coverage in their states. In her case, we will be getting insurance through the school because for,the first year, she won’t even be a resident of the new state.
It’s a mess. And will be about $4000 a year.
My son’s UC added a new requirement this year that his primary care through our insurance had to be within 40 miles. Since we have a local HMO we are out of that range so had to buy the school insurance. It costs $544/quarter for a total if $1632. That does include summers also. Each school is different and costs can vary widely. You may be able to get the cost from each school website. If not you should call.
My Schools’ insurance plan cost 1500 a year
We are paying through the teeth for a National-Access plan. My husband and I might have to pick out a local plan, eventually, but it’s worth the high cost to be sure that my son is covered at school and at home. Without tax credits, if you wanted to buy a good plan, it will probably cost more than $3k, depending on your state and whether you want a full “platinum” plan.
I remember an offering from the college about $3000 (not need) but the thing was, before D went a semester abroad she had me sign a letter that she had coverage abroad (I did- BC/BS FED). see if the college one offers international coverage?
My daughter has chronic health conditions. She got into a wonderful school in Europe for grad school. We flew over together and looked at apartments. However, she cannot go because no international plans will cover her “preexisting conditions.” I found one that will cover emergency care related to a preexisting condition (most won’t do that) but no ongoing care. I would have been grateful to pay almost anything for her to be able to go, but no amount of money could get us a policy that would make it possible.
Re: #10
On a student visa in that European country, she is not eligible for whatever medical insurance exists in that country? For example, international students in the UK are often eligible to use the UK National Health Service: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Study-work–more/Health-and-healthcare/National-Health-Service-NHS-who-is-entitled/
Hmmm, is it UCSB, and you have Kaiser, and there are no Kaiser services within 40 miles?
Even if they did not have that range requirement (which probably came about because they got tired of having to tell all of the students with Kaiser that they have to full-pay at the student health center), it does not seem like a good idea to have a plan whose providers are that inaccessible.
A student with little or no income may also want to check the prices and coverage for plans on the PPACA exchanges, since having little or no income could mean eligibility for substantial discounts.
^^No, having little or no income qualifies you for medicaid in those state that expanded it for adults. In order to qualify for subsidies on the exchanges, you have to make 100% of the poverty level, which for a single is about $15000.
^ Only in non-expansion states. In expansion states, it’s 138%- ~16k for a single person. (100% is just under 12k).
Be careful of the plans offered by the school. Sometimes the max payout can be too low. A significant problem could leave you with a sick or hurt child AND a giant bill. 
PhD students on stipends would likely be in the subsidy range for PPACA exchange plans, rather than in the Medicaid range.
UCB, the OP’s D is going to be a freshman. PhD stipends are completely irrelevant to this thread.
I have seen college offered plans range from 1,000 to 3,000 and I have usually been able to find that info on the website.