<p>Hopefully someone will have experience with this and let me know....</p>
<p>Undergrad students (both of my undergrad sons U's) provide medical insurance which is mandatory to pay for unless they have insurance. (both boys are on our plans for coverage so we opt out.)</p>
<p>As they will age out (23 I think) while in grad school, do the universities require insurance and provide it (students pay) for graduate students in school full time.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Yes, grad schools will require full-time students to purchase insurance unless the student already has a plan. Plans offered through the school tend to be overpriced with less-than-stellar benefits and can quickly become a nightmare to deal with. I’d suggest shopping around for private plans before committing to the grad school plan - you may find better benefits and save a lot of money.</p>
<p>As kigali noted, insurance is mandatory - most schools automatically subscribe and bill grad students to a university plan, which they can opt out of with proof of outside insurance. Please note that the universities often require certain things (like a minimum of $100,000 coverage at my school) so be sure you get one that fits the bill.</p>
<p>Most biomedical science programs provide free health insurance. Can’t speak to other types.</p>
<p>aldo - in general, a supported student gets free insurance as well, whether they are on RA, TA, or fellowship, regardless of field.</p>
<p>Almost all – but not all – universities require graduate students to carry health insurance.</p>
<p>Some will cover the cost, some will help to defray the cost, some will not help at all (even supported students). Many will offer a plan, and most will require students to provide proof of coverage, regardless of which plan a student chooses.</p>
<p>This is currently a contentious situation, which administrators in many graduate schools are debating.</p>
<p>Hypothetical situation. Say I decide to do my PhD in US (biosciences) and all of the programs say they cover health insurance… but that exactly does this mean? What if I have complications or need to get tests done from a pre existing condition, one acquired prior to moving to US. Do I get coverage for that? Do I have to pay out of my own pocket? It seems to me that if an insurance company can get out of paying, they will. Is the insurance you get as a student different from other possible insurances? I apologize, I just have a very vague idea of how the US system works minus the fact that the idea of it all being for-profit is incredibly disturbing to me. </p>
<p>What if I didn’t get health insurance, does an option exist (this is REALLY just out of curiosity b/c all the programs I am applying to say they cover it) whereby I’d get insurance for like emergencies, ER visits, broken hands, etc… but any serious tests I can fly across the border to do?</p>
<p>My insurance is paid for through the school, and they didn’t check for any pre-existing conditions before I was awarded insurance. The catch is that most of my routine care must be performed at the university health center (which is perfectly adequate, but requires me to go to the main campus). </p>
<p>The school covers more catastrophic care, as well. One of my labmates had a bike accident and shattered both wrists last year, and our insurance covered her ER visit and subsequent surgeries and physical therapy at a local hospital. She had to pay a little bit out of pocket, but overall she was mostly very well taken care of.</p>
<p>Safetypin00 - generally no, that wouldn’t be an option, but I know international students whose private insurance from their country of origin (Belgium, UK) allowed them to opt out of purchasing school insurance and ended up being a fraction of the cost. Is that an option for you? School insurance is typically given/sold without a medical exam, so you should be fine in that regard.</p>
<p>To safetypin and other internationals, I apologize for the state of our health insurance system; it isn’t good.</p>
<p>I think most school insurances require that no pre-existing conditions are excluded. As a consequence, the insurance the school offers doesn’t require a medical exam, because the insurance company has to pay for whatever illness you already have. It’s true that you are required to get treatment through the school’s health service, but the insurance usually only requires that you have a referral from the health service before you can get treatment at a hospital.</p>
<p>I have a chronic illness, so I e-mailed the health service in advance about it, got an appointment for the same day I arrived on campus, and got an immediate referral to the university hospital. One of my criteria when choosing a Ph.D. program was that the school has a good med school with a hospital close to campus, because I would be spending lots of time there.</p>
<p>My insurance has an approx. $250 deductible, meaning that after you’ve paid that, the insurance covers everything except a copay. I have pretty regular MRIs and other tests for some cancer stuff and pay around $25-$50 as copay each time I have something done at the hospital. The yearly out-of-pocket maximum is around $1500, so after that gets filled up, I pay nothing. I’ve never had any problems with the insurance company not wanting to pay for something, but the only thing you really need to do is that before having some expensive procedure, you should call your insurance company and get a precertification for the procedure. My doctor at the hospital always does this for me and his secretary informs me if I need to make a call too.</p>
<p>There’s one thing though. The best universities usually offer the best insurance and in general top private schools offer better than any public schools. It means that if you’re sick you should definitely aim for the Ivies, which will offer you the best possible treatment you can get. :D</p>
<p>Edit: I even joked with some of my friends that if you get cancer, you should apply for a masters or Ph.D. at some top private school, because paying for the tuition is a lot cheaper than paying for the treatment if you don’t have insurance…</p>
<p>OP, your question is a “political” question. A range of answers can be found in the “political” forum of Parent’s Cafe. </p>
<p>From our experience with 1 child. Aged out on grad school completion, at 22.5 yo</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Cheaper for us for child to use school’s insurance. University of Toronto. Canadian Health single payer. In fact we kept him on the employer’s group and paid the family premium rate. We received no reimbursements. Canadian system became the primary insurance, and paid a doctor’s visit, physical, and big prescription (anti-malaria) for an oversea’s, postgrad, Microsoft, internship.</p></li>
<li><p>On graduation, he of course had to have individual, private insurance. We discovered that his private insurance with high coverage, was cheaper than the group program that we had him on. </p></li>
<li><p>The private insurance also allowed a HSA program, which allowed money to be saved, at tax deductible credit. This deduction reduced his taxes by a significant amount since he had virtually no living expenses on his various postgrad internships. </p></li>
<li><p>If DS had contracted a serious ailment on his overseas (2) internships, and was on our insurance plan, DS would have had a problem in purchasing his own private insurance at any cost or possibly finding a job. Once DS had private insurance, the insurance company cannot deny service, renewal, or increase rate. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Our current system is currently screwed towards the wealthy and healthy. Consider for your sons obtaining private insurance and not to depend on the school’s or your family’s group employer plan; Until the “system” changes, YMMV. </p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>
Not to mention that you get disability insurance, too. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for all your responses.</p>
<p>I have some time but will keep in mind not only the cost but policy/copay/coverage the grad school offers (if they do) vs a private plan.</p>
<p>Hope this helps others out too.</p>