<p>I just received another statement from my daughter's college indicating that she owed $575. I was pretty sure that I paid for everything but assumed that an electronic payment didn't go through as I did have a problem with it but I was pretty sure that I had it covered.</p>
<p>A closer look at the statement shows an Insurance Fee and it says that it is Waivable. There's a Masspirg fee that's also waivable. I recall the Masspirg fee back from the late 1970s. I know that it stands for public interest research group but I don't know what they do. Mass has universal health care and you have to prove that you have health-care coverage (yeah, it sounds like a funny way to implement UHC) to colleges and universities or else you have to purchase theirs. I go through this every year with our son providing insurance information and being subject to a health insurance audit (anyone ever get one of these?). I didn't think that it was needed as they didn't do it in the fall. The main difference this semester is that she's taking 10 credits and maybe there's a threshold for required coverage. At any rate, it's always a good idea to take a close look at those bills. For some reason, the health insurance stuff seems to hit a month or two after the semester starts.</p>
<p>I think that you have been charged because your D is only taking 10 credits. Try to find out how many class hours she has. Because she is under 12 credits, she is considered a part time student, so everything will be prorated accordingly. Also check with your won insurance because if she is no longer a full time student, she can be dropped from your insurance also.</p>
<p>I have always had our insurer write a letter to me that I forward to the U confirming that my kids are covered under hubby's insurance plan & have always gotten a waiver based on that letter and filling out the form the U has on its website. I'm sure there is something similar you can do to get the waiver.</p>
<p>My Ds are in college in MA too, and I have to click through about ten webpages of disclaimers to waive the automatic plan. Also, check on what Sybbie says with your insurer. In many ways, college students acquire the legal status of adults, regardless of their age.</p>
<p>I'm a WFDeacon76 with kids in college. Is it possible that a BCEagle91 could be old enough to have a kid in college too? Geez - I'm ancient. :(</p>
<p>Many health insurance policies cover children up to the end of the year (12/31) of their 23rd birthdays regardless of their student status. I do read the financial issues of the college that my kids attend. Most of the time, they have a specific section about health insurance premium. Usually the student needs to apply for waiver with attached copy of health insurance card, which should list the name of the student as one of the insured. However, some of the colleges do not take parents insurance even the student is covered (for example CalTech). Many college health care centers are not in the providers net work of parents health insurance company, especially outside of the parents state of residency.</p>
<p>In addition to pay room, boards and tuition, we do make choice to pay some of the fees, which can be waived, such as student activity fees to support student's ECs.</p>
<p>Yes, it's important to check with individual policies about specific coverage. Some policies stop once the child reaches 18, others go through the child reaching 25 and everything in between. Some policies require proof that the child is a full-time student while others just require the person to be unmarried and dependent. It's confusing but can be profitable to sift through. Our policy covers our kids even tho they're in LA thru a PPO network & we still just pay the same $15 co-pay for doc visits there as we did when they were in HI (so long as the doc is participating & preferred). It's a good thing, since some of the docs my kids have seen in LA had a charge on paper of $500 for the visit!</p>
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Many health insurance policies cover children up to the end of the year (12/31) of their 23rd birthdays regardless of their student status.
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<p>You need to check YOUR health insurance policy. Some policies also drop kids when they are 18 regardless of their student status. It varies by policy.</p>
<p>In CT...there is a new law that kids up to age 26 are covered even if they are NOT students. BUT this does not apply to any employer who is self insured. So...even though it's a state law, some employers do not have to provide it because they self insure.</p>
<p>You really have to find out from your own carrier.</p>
<p>And some policies will not continue to cover kids who are no longer full time students.</p>
<p>My health insurance policy covers children up to the end of the year (12/31) of their 23rd birthdays regardless of their student status. Out two kids were born in January, so the insurance covers them to almost 24 years old. I actually found out by calling the insurance company before my first daughter went to college last fall. The finding was a pleasant surprise. I know that the student health clinic in her college is not a provider in my policy network. However, plenty of other hospitals and doctors within the walking distance in that town are in-network providers.</p>
<p>The trigger was 9 credits. I went to the state healthsite and submitted the waiver form. The school said that they should get the information into their billing system tomorrow. I'll call them tomorrow to verify that the charge has been removed.</p>
<p>Universal healthcare coverage seems to me to be more like multiple healthcare insurance billing. I get the feeling that the implementation is a boondoggle to private healthcare companies that now get more customers because everyone is forced to pay for healthcare coverage now.</p>