College can be a wonderful and very progressive period in a person’s life. It is important though that you protect your health financially whether you choose to go away to college or whether you attend a local post-secondary institution. After all you just never know what could happen to you in terms of your health for the years you are attending school. Sometimes despite your good intentions health problems and/or injuries do occur.
Having health insurance in the event of an emergency is important but before you go out and purchase coverage you need to ensure that you don’t already have it. If you are presently enrolled in a college or university and are under the age of 31 years then it is possible that you are already covered under your parents’ policy for health insurance. Even if you are not attending a post-secondary institution you may still be covered under your parents’ policy if you are under a certain age. Not all states have the same rules in this regard. Check with your state to find out whether or not you are covered or not.
To determine whether you need to purchase your own health insurance coverage or not you need to first research the rules of your parents’ health care policy as well as the rules that the Department of Insurance in your state has set down. Once you have that information you can then proceed.
Insurance Guidelines in the State You Live In
Where your parents live plays plays a role in your potential insurance coverage as their son or daughter. Insurance guidelines vary from one state to another. Depending on the state your parents are in, your coverage under their plan could end anywhere from the ages of 19 years up to 31 years. As previously mentioned, this all-important information can be found either on your home state’s Department of Insurance website or by placing a call to the Department of Insurance in the state.
When you are conducting your research pay close attention to whether the rules in this regard are mandatory across the state or whether they are left up to the discretion of each insurance company. The word “requires” in this instance means something different than the word “allows.” Let us explain this further. Read on.
The word requires means that the insurance companies throughout the state are expected to follow the law and do not get to make their own decisions. On the other hand, if you see the word allows then this means that the insurance company can choose to follow this rule but by law is not mandated to do so. Anything else that does not receive a mention is left up to the discretion of the individual health insurance company. To give an example of this, if there is no law in your state relating to continuing coverage when a break is taken from the status of full-time attendance at school then this very well may vary from one insurance company to another.
As you look around it is wise to compare differentiations between what is allowed in small businesses and what is allowed in large businesses. An example of this can be found in the state of Nebraska. According to a briefing on dependent coverage for American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) a dependent child under the age of 30 can be covered under his or her parents’ plan if the individual is able to meet other requirements and the parent is employed by a large business. The age that the dependent child can be covered up to if the parent works for a small business is 23 years.
There is a selection of states across the country where parents are permitted by law to keep their dependent and unmarried adult children on their health plans as long as the adult children do not get their own health insurance. The ages of the children varies from one state to another. That is why it is so important for you to become as knowledgeable as possible about the rules that surround health insurance. Many people are not aware that the health coverage for their adult children can last a great deal longer than they expected it to.
What is Michelle’s Law?
If you have never heard of Michelle’s Law then as a college student you need to know that it is very important legislation that you will want to get better acquainted with. This is what Michelle’s Law states according to an American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) briefing on dependent coverage, “Full-time college students are covered by a parent’s health insurance plan to maintain their coverage for up to 12 months while taking a medical leave of absence from school.” Michelle’s Law is in existence in all 50 states. However it must be stated that the leave of absence for the student must be absolutely necessary and must be certified by a physician.
For a little background on Michelle’s Law, it was named after a woman by the name of Michelle Morse (1982- 2005). Ms Morse was a strong advocate for the health rights of students. A federal law passed in 2008 and signed into law by President Bush on October 9, 2008 ensured that those attending college and university would not lose their access to health insurance if they had to leave school because of a serious illness or disease.
Michelle Morse was a student attending Plymouth State University in New Hampshire when she was diagnosed with cancer in December 2003. Her doctor told her that she would need to leave school in order to undergo cancer treatments. What she soon discovered was that to do so would make her health insurance coverage null and void. Instead of quitting school Ms Morse continued her studies as she underwent therapy for the cancer. With a grade point average of 3.0 Ms. Morse remained active in the school that she attended and challenged the laws that governed student health insurance benefits. She took on both the state and national legislatures and demanded that changes be made. In May 2005 Michelle Morse graduated cum laude. She died on November 10, 2005. While she did not live long enough to see the law come into existence, her legacy lives on through the law that was named after her.
Health Insurance Policy Rules- Get to Know Them!
If you are presently a college student then have your parents check the rules of their health insurance policy to find out what is allowed. Find out if you can be covered as a full-time student and/or if you are able to be covered if you choose to attend school part-time. You also might want to find out how long you are able to be covered by your parents’ policy following your college graduation. Another important point is to find out what healthcare providers in your area are available under your parents’ policy.
If you are fortunate enough to be able to remain on your parents’ health insurance policy while you are studying at a postsecondary institution then you should put away as much money as you can to cover your deductibles as well as your co-payments. For example, set aside however much money you would have to pay per month if you needed to be insured through your college’s health insurance plan. Once you have set aside enough money for that then you can set aside money for savings and also start an emergency fund.
You may discover that there are limits to what your parents’ policy covers. If your college has a better plan with wider coverage than you may decide to go with that one instead. In some cases a college plan may be more cost effective. You might decide to stay with your parents’ policy for the first year or two of your schooling and then switch to the college’s plan. That is why it is so important to compare and contrast what the various health insurance plans have to offer you in terms of coverage.
