<p>In some cases, parents of college students are paying double the cost of health insurance for their children. And some children who have insurance through their parents' health plans are finding they aren't covered for services at their colleges at all. </p>
<p>Today, students at most four-year schools must show proof of health insurance as a requirement for admission. But, typically, when students show up at the school clinic for health care, they're told they can't use their private health insurance.></p>
<p>Yes that was an interesting report. It really varies college to college. I don't mind the paying up front but sure don't want to pay 2 insurance plans unnecessarily! Read that fine print!</p>
<p>Our son is covered by our HMO at home. But it was unclear whether this HMO would really reimburse us for any costs he incurred at school because the school is out of area for the HMO. And the university made clear that their health services are not interested in any insurance other than the one sold by the school. So we pay for two and we pray that he doesn't get seriously ill or injured! (As part of the tuition, we also pay a health services fee! We're not sure what that pays for!!)</p>
<p>We just listened to this yesterday in my critical health issues class. At my school, they do make the fact that you can opt out of campus health insurance relatively clear, but only to freshmen. The transfer students in the class indicated that they weren't really notified.</p>
<p>Also, here the clinic is free to all students regardless of your insurance, but the problem arises when it comes to paying for tests and prescriptions. You're expected to pay up front and then be reimbursed by your insurer, so it basically prevents certain students from getting the treatment they need. It's not a very good system.</p>
<p>It's all about spreading the wealth around in health care. </p>
<p>WashU is one college that requires every student to purchase their insurance so they can offer a full-service medical plan to their staff (and non-insured students). Essentially, the doubly-insured students are also cover costs of WashU employees.</p>
<p>And, yes, an HMO only covers emergency services out of areas. Thus, folks should consider PPO if offered during open enrollment.</p>
<p>We self-insure; there is no "open enrollment" for us. To switch insurance, we would consult an insurance broker and submit the results of detailed health exams. If we got an offer, we would have pay the premiums on the new offer as well as on the old insurance; otherwise we risk losing health insurance altogether. It would cost us thousands to switch and we worry that we would lose what we have! </p>
<p>We did contemplate dropping our son from our HMO but, after examining the college policy, we feel he would be under-insured by this policy. The university clinic and hospital only take the university-sponsered insurance (from students, anyway) but the insurance is not adequate for dealing with a serious illness or injury. If our son required hospitalization, we would get him stabilized and then move him to a hospital covered by our HMO.</p>
<p>At my daughter's college all students are charged a health services fee <em>and</em> a small mandatory insurance fee. On top of that you can purchase the full health insurance the college offers or waive it if you have your own coverage. The small mandatory insurance fee doesn't cover much, but it does cover all services offered at the student health center. It is quite cheap at $111 for the academic year. It has a very low cap (like $2500, I think) and is no substitute for a regular insurance policy, but it bridges that gap between keeping your private insurance and having access to the student health center.</p>
<p>I think its important to read the college health plan carefully to see what it covers. My daughter doesn't have a choice at her college as to the basic health plan -- all students are automatically charged for it. It's maximum coverage is $5000..... so I have kept in force her private policy, but switched that to a high-deductible plan to save costs, with a $5K deductible. So basically the private plan covers where the college plan leaves off, but we're saving a little bit on the premiums for the private plan. If a student who is in general good health has access to a student health center without charge, there is no point paying health care premiums to cover routine office visits.</p>
<p>At my D's university it is not made clear how to waive the student insurance. I had to call three offices to finally find out that it was posted on the bill the month before tuition was due and not easily recognizable. Now I calendar it each quarter and go back a month to waive it--a savings of $260 per quarter for insurance that duplicated what we already have (and pay for). When I told the lady in charge of student health insurance that this was not an easy nor clear process she told me that is because they need as many students as possible to buy insurance to keep rates down! I would rather be charged a mandatory fee that every student pays than be duped into paying for what I already have.</p>
<p>At USC every student pays a 'Health Center Fee' of about $200 which allows them use of the student health center. There is an additional fee for Student Health Insurance of about $300 which gives you access to the university hospitals. The Health Insurance fee can be waived if you show proof of insurance.</p>