Student Health Insurance and Short Term Health Insurance
Student health insurance is an oversight for many parents and students alike.
When you leave home to start on your journey of a college career, there are lots of things to think about: are you going to like your roommate, what activities there are to participate in, will you like your classes, etc.
But the one thing that can get overlooked is health coverage.
In addition to the questions above, you should also be asking yourself: Do I have insurance? How can I make sure I'm not paying huge medical bills once I leave school? Although you may still be covered by your parents' plan while you are attending classes, there may be some limitations.
What if you are attending school out-of-state? Some plans will limit you to seeing local doctors only.
If you get injured or sick while you are away from home? You may be hit with expenses you have never experienced before.
For this reason, it is wise to look into student health insurance or some kind of temporary coverage that can protect you while you are away.
Many companies offer health plans for situations just like these.
They know that students may not really have a lot of money to work with, so they make sure these special plans and have affordable rates through a group plan that any attending student is eligible for.
As long as you are taking the required number of credits each term, you are covered.
Once you graduate, or stop attending college, you also want to pay attention to how long you are covered under your parents' plan.
For most programs, if you are a full-time student, you can be covered until age 24.
If you are not attending school, you are only covered until age 18.
So what happens when you are 21 or 22 years old, and have graduated college, but don't have a job secured yet? It's time to look into short-term health insurance.
Short-term health insurance is a plan that can cover you temporarily - up to 6 months most times.
This can provide basic coverage for office visits, surgeries, and other procedures.
Pre-existing conditions, though, will not be covered, so this kind of health plan is only meant for the "in-between" time, or until an employer offers or you buy full health coverage.
The important thing is that you do not ever want to be without some kind of health insurance.
Small occurrences like checkups or treatments for the common cold can run you into hundreds, even thousand of dollars in bills.
And if you are a student in college, or just getting out of college, the last thing you need are unnecessary bills that could have been covered by the plans discussed.
Know your options, so you are prepared for anything.
L.
Waters © 2009
When you leave home to start on your journey of a college career, there are lots of things to think about: are you going to like your roommate, what activities there are to participate in, will you like your classes, etc.
But the one thing that can get overlooked is health coverage.
In addition to the questions above, you should also be asking yourself: Do I have insurance? How can I make sure I'm not paying huge medical bills once I leave school? Although you may still be covered by your parents' plan while you are attending classes, there may be some limitations.
What if you are attending school out-of-state? Some plans will limit you to seeing local doctors only.
If you get injured or sick while you are away from home? You may be hit with expenses you have never experienced before.
For this reason, it is wise to look into student health insurance or some kind of temporary coverage that can protect you while you are away.
Many companies offer health plans for situations just like these.
They know that students may not really have a lot of money to work with, so they make sure these special plans and have affordable rates through a group plan that any attending student is eligible for.
As long as you are taking the required number of credits each term, you are covered.
Once you graduate, or stop attending college, you also want to pay attention to how long you are covered under your parents' plan.
For most programs, if you are a full-time student, you can be covered until age 24.
If you are not attending school, you are only covered until age 18.
So what happens when you are 21 or 22 years old, and have graduated college, but don't have a job secured yet? It's time to look into short-term health insurance.
Short-term health insurance is a plan that can cover you temporarily - up to 6 months most times.
This can provide basic coverage for office visits, surgeries, and other procedures.
Pre-existing conditions, though, will not be covered, so this kind of health plan is only meant for the "in-between" time, or until an employer offers or you buy full health coverage.
The important thing is that you do not ever want to be without some kind of health insurance.
Small occurrences like checkups or treatments for the common cold can run you into hundreds, even thousand of dollars in bills.
And if you are a student in college, or just getting out of college, the last thing you need are unnecessary bills that could have been covered by the plans discussed.
Know your options, so you are prepared for anything.
L.
Waters © 2009
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