<p>So the changes to Access UVA this year made it so that in-state students have a max loan cap at $3,500 a year for a total of $14,000. I thought this was great, until I figured out that I am required to have health insurance. So basically, it's capped at $3,500 NOT INCLUDING health insurance? This means that all of the low-income students who expected to pay $3,500 a year now have to take out around a total of $5,900 a year to pay for health insurance. This is very disappointing if true...</p>
<p>Um…they probably require you to have health insurance of some kind. And that is never a free item. Regardless of where you get health insurance, there is a cost to the user. Were you previously covered under a parent plan? Do you qualify for any state funded health insurance that would cost less?</p>
<p>My insurance expires the end of this month… I can get UVA’s plan for about the same price as going on my mom’s plan. I’m pretty sure that I don’t qualify for state funded insurance, but I suppose I should find out.</p>
<p>What I don’t understand is why insurance is not in UVA’s estimated cost of attendance, while “personal” is.</p>
<p>I haven’t seen any college include this, and perhaps they should, or should at least list it somewhere more obvious as a possible expense. My DS starts at Cornell this fall, and though she is covered under our family’s insurance, there was some question as to whether our insurance would meet their minimum standard. We were looking at $2000+ in unexpected expenses. Thankfully it seems to have worked out, but yikes.</p>
You can request that it be made a part of your estimated cost of attendance by filling out a financial aid form. But the form is clear that any aid you receive to meet the health insurance cost will be loan only. I agree that the cost of health insurance should be included in cost of attendance particularly if UVA is going to require minimum policy limits that are higher than the average family policy and especially when UVA will not accept out of state medicaid creating a real hardship for low income OOS. It should also be considered as meeting part of the loan cap for OOS and instate which it is not right now.