<p>We are debating whether we should buy SHIP offered by Cornell?</p>
<p>I do have a medical insurance - PPO by United HealthCare, but with only in-network coverage. It worked just fine for us so far - pretty much every hospital in NYC is in-network, and there are plenty of doctors of every specialty that are in network as well.</p>
<p>But apparently Ithaca is not NYC :(</p>
<p>There are doctors in the area that are in network (I found 5-10 internist/family physicians in Ithaca), but if we decline SHIP my DD pretty much can't go to the Gannett, since it is not in ANY network and our insurance plan would not reimburse us for any services provided by Gannett.</p>
<p>Another thing that scares me - the nearest in-network hospital is in Cortland, which is considered "in area" by Cornell's definition, but still is about 17 miles away.</p>
<p>SHIP costs about $2K per year, which is not peanuts to our family. It is surely convenient to be able to seek medical care right in the campus, but is it worth $2K?</p>
<p>We are 4.5 hrs away, and DD is my first one to go away, so I am really nervous.</p>
<p>DD is an incoming frosh, so I have no idea what to do, and would really appreciate an advice from the the people with experience. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>Hi, my family also had a similar problem. Our health insurance is Oxford-United Health Care and Gannett does not accept that, nor does our health care company reimburse us if I have to go to Gannett. </p>
<p>My dad called the United, and they told him that there is a close walk-in clinic in collegetown near campus that accepts that insurance. The Gannett pharmacy accepts my insurance, so I’m not sure how that is in your situation. </p>
<p>But I would advise you to ask your health care company or look around to see if there are any walk-in clinics that accept your insurance.</p>
<p>Thanks, John. Have you ever used this walk-in clinic? And if yes, how was your experience?</p>
<p>Also, do you care to share its name and address? If you’d rather not post it here, please just send me a PM. I am pretty sure that if it is in network for Oxford, it probably acceps United HealthCare too. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>I got SHIP today. My old insurance plan was with BlueCross and was a family plan. But it had a $7,500 deductible anyway, so this one was worth it.</p>
<p>Just going to go to the doctor every time I feel even slightly sick…</p>
<p>Well, I have NO deductible on my plane, and my copayment is $20, so it is not a concern. Finding a dr near by is. Where do people go besides Gannett?</p>
<p>I was under the impression that SHIP was mandatory unless you had private insurance that would cover you at Gannett. But maybe that’s what they want you to think …</p>
<p>My older daughter used Gannett a few times, and the cost is very minimum. I don’t think each visit was even over $50. They don’t treat anything serious there anyway. We brought our older one home to be treated when she was very sick.</p>
<p>We have BCBS and did not get SHIP for our son. He had a fair bit of medical stuff happen while at school, and I in no way regret not taking the SHIP. However my plan does have out of network coverage (at a lower level than in-network, of course). </p>
<p>For doctor visits to Gannett, your insurance is irrelevant: the student is only charged $10 even if they don’t have SHIP. This is less than the doctor visit co-pay on my insurance anyhow. </p>
<p>If they do any other testing at Gannett (blood work, etc.) you will have to pay out of pocket for that. In our case I was able to submit for partial reimbursement by my insurance plan. </p>
<p>My son was seen at a local urgent care one weekend, and that was in-network for my plan. (They have an arrangement where the kid can take a cab there and charge it to their bursar bill.) The local hospital is also in-network for our plan. </p>
<p>I wonder if it would be worth looking into whether you can change your plan to something with a more extensive network in the Ithaca area (without sacrificing other benefits to the rest of the family), for less money in additional premiums than getting the SHIP?</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Cornell verifies your health insurance to make sure it fits the requirements? I think the one I have does, but I’m not completely sure.</p>
<p>I talked to Gannett because of a potential problem with our insurance and they said they randomly audit insurance coverage.</p>
<p>My daughter used Gannett once and the office visit was $20 for BCBS/Blue Choice but the medicine was going to potentially cost a lot because they did not even check the insurance coverage and told her to have it billed to the bursar. It was $300. They weren’t going to let her leave without it so she called me and I checked with my insurance company and it turned out to be $40.</p>
<p>My employer only offers United HealthCare and BCBS. I can’t switch now, but I don’t think BCBS provides better area coverage than what I have. Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca (the ONLY hospital in the town) is out of network for both. Gannett rep said that they only have one ambulance company in Ithaca, and students are taken to Cayuga.</p>
<p>I called United HealthCare and they confirmed that they don’t have ANY in-network Urgent Care facilities in Ithaca area. So, if my D ends up their the payment would depend on how the medical center bills it. If they put the code for urgent care, UH will cover it on exception basis. If Cayuga use the code for ER, UH will not cover it.</p>
<p>Other than the billing code they were not able to explain to me the difference between urgent care and ER. In my opinion, it’s the same thing. Why would anyone with insuranc go to ER if there is no urgency? It’s beyond my comprehension.</p>
<p>Any way, I think we are staying with our plan for this year. I’ll see what’s offered during annual enrollment for next year and take it from there.</p>
<p>It’s a relieve that D can go to the Gannett if she is not feeling well and receive care for only $10 (it’s less than my copay for a doctor visit). I am not sure how labs are going to be handled. </p>
<p>Does anyone know whether it is possible to have the specimens send for testing elsewhere? There are labs in Ithaca that are in network, but obviously not Gannett’s lab.</p>
<p>I’ve been sharing my story with my coworkers. Quite a few of them are sending kids to college this fall. Suddenly, everyone started to checking their coverage LOL and calling schools and insurance companies.</p>
<p>I am really grateful for all your advice and shared experience.</p>
<p>That doesn’t sound right, that they wouldn’t cover an ER visit in an emergency. </p>
<p>My kid did have an ambulance ride and ER visit at one point during his first year, and my insurance did cover it all. But if your insurance really won’t cover an ER visit or ambulance ride, you might very well be safer paying for the SHIP. One ambulance ride and ER visit would cost more than $2K if you have to pay in full out of pocket.</p>
<p>Cornell has its own paramedics on campus, and IME they are pretty conservative, calling for an ambulance if there’s any doubt (which is reassuring but expensive).</p>
<p>You’d have to call Gannett to ask if they would send a specimen to an in-network lab for you. My guess is they would not, though your child could decline to have the specimen collected at Gannett and go somewhere else, but that would be pain for them, especially if they are feeling unwell. I did find Gannett helpful when I called to ask questions like this last summer.</p>
<p>If your child needs to see a specialist, there should be no problem getting a referral to someone on your plan (assuming there is someone local on your plan).</p>
<p>Does anyone know if there is a close walk-in clinic in collegetown near campus that accept HMO Blue?
Our insurence company is Capital Health Plan. We applied “Away from Home” program and is in HMO Blue. We are looking for a clinic is close to campus. Thanks in advance for the help!!</p>
<p>During business hours, Gannett will see a student even without SHIP for only $10. Your best bet for finding a clinic on your plan would be to call your plan’s customer service number and ask them, because it seems like there are myriad variations on the “same” plans, so even if one family’s HMO blue covers a given location, yours may not. Good luck!</p>
<p>Some people said if Gannett does lab test on the kid and our inurence doesn’t cover, it could cost us a lot. I’m pretty sure that our HMO Blue won’t cover those lab tests if not required by primary doctor. Her primary doctor is located in a place that needs to take taxi there. I am so glad to hear that it only costs $10 for a visit to Gannett but jus afraid of getting a big bill for unpredicted lab tests. Any advice? Thank you so much for answering my questions!!</p>
<p>We did pay out of pocket for some lab tests our son had done at Gannett. (They were applied toward his out-of-network deductible on our insurance.) If the kid needed extensive testing, I’d want him to go somewhere in network, but for a strep test or blood test, they’re not that expensive to pay out of pocket, and it’s easier than making your kid travel when they’re sick, especially since you’d then have to take into account the cost of the cab ride. If the doctor at Gannett wants to order tests, you can have your kid ask how much they are going to cost, and if it’s above whatever threshold you want to set, have your kid say “no thanks, I need to go somewhere covered by my parents’ health insurance” and leave. They can give the Gannett doctor permission to communicate with the other doctor to coordinate care.</p>
<p>So, in your case, if your insurance will only cover tests ordered by the PCP, at a certain point you’re going to want your kid to get in the cab and go to the PCP, but for “small stuff” they may do fine at Gannett. </p>
<p>IME the lab tests were all in the $20-$30 range. My kid did have one or two “radiology” procedures that were more expensive (over $100, but not thousands or anything). So if they want to do an X-ray, ultrasound, EKG, etc… definitely have your student ask how much it is going to be.</p>
<p>There is a lab on 840 HANSHAW RD, ITHACA, NY 14850-1589. Tel. 607-257-6563</p>
<p>It is in-network for United HealthCare. I called them up and they said they are located about 5 min by bus from Cornell campus. They also said that the student would need to call up for an appointment and bring a Dr prescription, then they will do the tests. There is also a health clinic at the same address with a bunch of internists that are in-network for UH.</p>
<p>My D had a severe stomach pain a few weeks ago and she went to Gannett. The visit cost $10, another $10 for OTC medication. They did recommend a blood test if she does not improve, but she got better and never went for it. </p>
<p>I also called Cornell on-campus pharmacy and gave them our prescription plan information to put on-file, so next time if D needs a Rx medication, all she has to do is to bring her prescription and tell the pharmacy that her insurance info is on file (we have Medco and they do accept it). The pharmacist I spoke to was very nice and helpful and said it is very often that the students forget to bring their prescription insurance card with them, especially if they are not feeling well. So I had this covered.</p>
<p>I figured out, if my D needs a series of lab tests, she can take a cab to the lab. So far she used University taxy (607-277-7777) a few times and has no complains. She just call them up and tell where to pick her up. The rates are very reasonable.</p>
<p>Dear Mathmomvt and Newstudentmom,
My daughter is a freshman this year and got cold already. She is not used to the cold weather in the north. She said Balch Hall is still not ready to turn on heater.
*
Thank you both for sharing the valuable information and your experience!!</p>