USC Health Insurance--Experiences?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Just wondering who has tried the USC health insurance? S may have to go on it beginning this year since he will lose coverage under the federal plan when he turns 22 this fall. Would love to hear folks' experiences under this plan so we know what to expect & can decide whether to go with this or use COBRA or other plan to keep him covered. He has some pre-existing health issues, including asthma. USC says no problem with pre-existing conditions, including asthma.</p>

<p>They said the main problem for students is when they have to drop out of school due to heatlh issues and lose insurance coverage & then can't get insurance due to their pre-existing health issues.</p>

<p>Anyway, would love to hear from folks who have experience with the student insurance and/or off campus student insurance. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>We were unable to waive the student health insurance - one of the maximums wasn’t high enough on our family policy - and thought “Well, at least we won’t have to worry about submitting claims - USC will handle it!” Unfortunately, it turns out that the health center charges everything (including minor visits) to the student’s account (the same account tuition, meal plans, etc… appear on) and you have to print out online forms and submit them yourself.</p>

<p>Everyone involved is helpful and pleasant, it is just much more of a project and hassle than I had anticipated.</p>

3

<p>That’s weird. The folks I spoke with this morning said that visits to the Student Health Center don’t even show up with the insurance plan and aren’t charged at all. They’re just part of the Student Health Fee that all students have to pay. We don’t have this insurance–S is currently covered as a dependent under hubby’s policy. S has been seen at the health center & even received meds but it has never shown up on his USC account (the one where we pay tuition, etc.)</p>

<p>Are you referring to visits to physicians referred by USC? I guess USC figures they don’t have to make it too easy for us and if we want reimbursement, we’ll jump thru the right hoops? When we had son seen by other docs that were participating & preferred by our BC/BS plan, we didn’t have to do any extra paperwork, it all was processed & we just paid our regular $15 co-pay, as if we had seen docs in HI. We paid at USC & nothing was added to the USC account.</p>

<p>One good thing is that there is no exclusion for pre-existing health conditions, from what they said.</p>

4

<p>HImom, My D doesn’t have the USC insurance now but I am considering getting it for her last semester at USC because I read somewhere that if you have it when you graduate, you can keep it for some period of time afterward. It has been my experience that many kids don’t get a job with insurance straight out of school. Did you hear or read anything about this benefit?</p>

5

<p>HImom, the charges were from the on-campus health center for a checkup and vaccines for study abroad. Like you, I had assumed it would all be covered between the health center fee, the USC insurance and our private insurance - yet the charge showed up on her bill. They did not say a thing to her while she was there about the charge or provide any paperwork for us to submit. When I called to inquire, they said they did not do insurance billing - either for the USC insurance or our private insurance - but that they would provide the paperwork we needed for our claim submission, so she went back to the health center to pick it up. Were the doctors your son saw in the health center? If not, I think I will send D off-campus for health care to simplify the claims process - she could just show her card(s) and not worry about it.</p>

6

<p>I’ve been charged for lab fees, vaccines and referrals, but not minor visits. I think those are included in the Student Health fee.</p>

<p>With the vaccines, I’ve paid then submitted a claim and I usually get most of it back.</p>

7

<p>The student plan is a Blue Cross of California plan. It has nice low deductibles and co-pays. I found it better and cheaper than keeping the students on our family plan, so I dropped them off the family plan as soon as they enrolled at USC.</p>

<p>My DS who graduated recently had it all four years and used it a lot for injuries suffered in bike accidents. About once a year he would crash his bike into something and get banged up. They were low speed and caused by not paying attention and not maintaining his bike (despite warnings, ahem). He also twisted his ankle pretty good once playing basketball. Anyway, there were no issues that I know of. I can’t remember the details, but for some reason once he went to the local emergency room (in LA) and there was some billing snafu, but it got straightened out eventually. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. He had his retainer remade by the dental school after he lost it once. That was interesting, and I don’t think they even charged him for it. There is an optical portion that covers contacts and eyeglasses after a separate deductible.</p>

<p>DD who is a current student uses the clinic a lot for routine stuff and has gotten some referrals for things. No issues. We take her to the family doctor here in TX during summer and winter breaks, and they have no problems putting charges through. It is just another Blue Cross policy to them.</p>

8

<p>GAP insurance coverage is described here & available to students who had coverage prior to graduation–the policy is for 6-months. I don’t know the cost of the premium but suspect it is reasonable.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/Health_Center/docs/09-10.GAPplan.pdf[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/Health_Center/docs/09-10.GAPplan.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>We have BC/BS & saw docs at the USC medical school campus in the family practice clinic for both S & D. We didn’t complete any extra forms or paperwork but did show them our insurance card, which they xeroxed & added to the file. We had our Rx filled at Walgreens, which processed it & just had us make our co-payment.</p>

<p>Will have to pay attention to see if they start adding charges for our kids but so far, there was no charge for S going to the health center & I believe they may have dispensed an albuterol inhaler to him as well. This is consistent with what they said when I spoke with them on the phone today. Perhaps it’s a different category when they’re preparing to travel & that may not be covered in the same manner? S saw a travel clinic when he was home briefly this summer & we just will pay our regular $15 co-pay. He got a shot for HepA there too. He is supposed to get a 2nd HepA shot in about 6 months (tho not as crucial now that China trip was cancelled since China won’t issue visa). They said I have to pay for the shot up front & will get reimbursed upon completing paperwork, minus the co-payment (no deductible for vaccinations).</p>

<p>Somehow, the USC insurance, with its quirks, looks somewhat more attractive than the federal Continuation of Coverage (like Cobra), which I believe would be about $500/mo. The benefit of that other plan is that it continues for 18 months while the GAP policy is only up to 6 months.</p>

9

<p>Thank you for finding that. We looked into COBRA when my eldest graduated and, just as you said, it was over $500 per month for a kid with no existing health problems. We ended up getting her a high deductible Kaiser policy for the year she didn’t have employer-provided insurance. We now have a similar individual Blue Cross Policy for our second child. It’s about $100 per month with a $3500 deductible but then very good coverage after that. Did you learn how much this Gap Policy would cost?</p>

10

<p>Puzzled - Do you have a link for the policy you have now for your child? My son graduated recently, he was on our private plan but is no longer covered so we are very nervous that he has no insurance. I think the gap USC insurance is only for the kids who didn’t have their families insurance.</p>

11

<p>OK–just got off the phone with several USC & Anthem employees.
The phone number for Anthem BC/BS is 1-800–888-2108. Their GAP premiums are based on age & available for up to 18-months following USC graduation, provided the student doesn’t have insurance from another source, such as work. It is available from when the USC policy expires in mid-August and intended to be like Cobra or any other continuation of coverage policy, with similar benefits to their USC policy. The price of this premium is higher because it isn’t a student group policy but priced more like other cobra plans (they know when they’ve got you)–the young person is no longer a student and not under the USC STUDENT policy.</p>

<p>The premiums are based on age. For students under 24 years of age, it is $395/month. The 1st premium payment covers from mid-Aug to the end of September & is prorated to $579.34. They can enroll by contacting the 1-800-888-2108 & getting the form & packet mailed to them. Should enroll prior to their USC policy expiring.</p>

<p>USC has two major options for coverage–students who are on-campus (or get to campus on a regular basis) and those who are off-campus and don’t get coverage there.</p>

<p>The on-campus premium for fall is $405 (mid-Aug thru Jan) and spring $624 (Jan thru mid-Aug). $220/term health center fee is also assessed. You need referrals to see docs but they indicated you don’t need referrals to see docs during breaks–Christmas & summer.</p>

<p>The off-campus premium is for students who DON’T COME TO CAMPUS–take classes at orange county, are doing an internship off campus, travel abroad, etc. You can get $220 Health Center fee waived (complete paperwork) and the premium is $580 for fall and $947 for spring.</p>

<p>The Health Center at USC is NOT equipped to file claims, so if your student’s services involves any payments, the student will be charged and can get the paperwork to submit the claim. If the student sees a doc at the USC health campus, the student will just show their card & paperwork will be submitted w/o the student having to do it (they are equipped to process paperwork).</p>

<p>The services my S had performed at the Health Center on the park campus were just to be seen for his allergies/asthma & didn’t involve any paperwork or payment, so he never did have anything show up. His $220 health center fee covered whatever was provided. When immunizations and more services are provided, typically, there is more paperwork & $ changing hands.</p>

<p>For more info, you can call the USC insurance office at (213)740-0551 or the benefits office (213)740-2180. The pharmacy is 800-700-2541, for more info about the Rx benefit.</p>

<p>There are optional additional coverages that can be purchased, including vision and dental, for an extra premium, of course. The above provides your student continuous coverage so s/he doesn’t become uninsurable due to a pre-existing condition, etc. We are seriously considering this insurance, as S will age out of hubby’s coverage when he turns 22 in November. He won’t graduate until May 2010. Not sure if he’ll spend a term off campus or not, as he’s now exploring this option.</p>

12

<p>HImom, I was thinking about this yesterday, as I am currently uninsured (eek!)</p>

<p>Thanks very very much for the informative post!</p>

13

<p>HImom! Thank you!!!</p>

<p>They should print out what you just wrote and include it as the first page when you get the USC insurance. None of that information came with the materials they sent.</p>

14

<p>$ 395 a month??? For a 21 year old?
whoa, what a RIP OFF![ it is for a young person who is healthy] !
take a look at this quote from Anthem for individual coverage for a 21 year old male[I used my son’ age, which is close to Himom’s son] This would be for someone living in LA. The monthly premiums start at $83
<a href=“https://express.rwsol.com/roi/getCCRecommendations.do?productLineId=135&productLine=Medical[/url]”>https://express.rwsol.com/roi/getCCRecommendations.do?productLineId=135&productLine=Medical&lt;/a&gt;
The $395 policy strikes me as just an example of Anthem trying to string current USC participants along.</p>

15

<p>ebayispayingforcollege - Sorry to be slow in getting back to you, I was out of town. I don’t have a link for you but my D’s policy is Anthem Blue Cross in California and it’s called PPO 3500. The cost right now is $103 per month for a healthy 23 year old. I think of it as catastrophic medical insurance. With a $3500 deductible, we would have to pay for any routine care but she’d be very well covered for an accident or serious illness. It is peace of mind insurance.</p>

<p>I did my health insurance research and comparison through the ehealthinsurance.com website which I found to be very user-friendly.</p>

<p>menloparkmom - My D’s policy started even lower than the rate you quoted but then jumped up sharply very soon after it started. Don’t expect it to stay below $100 for long.</p>

16

<p>Many insurance companies offer short-term hospital surgical policies for people in between jobs. It is not comprehensive health insurance in that it doesn’t cover check ups, illnesses like the flu, etc. They usually cover more financially catastrophic incidents, injuries, etc. It is an option for students off the USC student coverage but not yet covered under an employers group policy (term lengths are ususally 3 mos, 6 mos, 1 year.) Options differ from state to state. But if you’re child is no longer under USCs options, talk to your insurance agent about alternatives.</p>

17

<p>I have some vague memory of being told that short-term policies are risky because if you do develop a health problem and then that period ends, the problem may be considered a pre-existing condition and not covered under a new policy, or, even worse, you may not be able to get another policy (unless it is employment based). With the open-ended policy we can cancel at any time so we can essentially make it a short-term policy if we want. Please don’t take my word for this but do look into the issue if you’re thinking about short-term coverage.</p>

18

<p>Actually, it’s REALLY important to be sure about coverage BEFORE your insurance lapses because of possible exclusions for pre-existing conditions. Even asthma is such a condition and it can make your insurance policy close to worthless for getting the coverage you need if you nave a health condition, even if you haven’t been treated for it recently. Be sure you have a full understanding of what you ARE and ARE NOT getting before agreeing to any policy–surprises are a bad thing!</p>

19

<p>This thread is WONDERFUL! </p>

<p>As grey said, I’m also uninsured (yes, I know…eek) but this post is excellent. I’m glad USC offers great coverage for their students! :)</p>

<p>To everyone who contributed, thanks a lot! :D</p>

20

<p>Question: From my wife’s company, we have BC/BS of Illinois. The coverage meets the waiver requirements as stated by USC. My son, starting at USC this fall, would be covered by our insurance. Does anyone recommend getting USC’s insurance anyway?</p>