I was wondering what is a good health insurance company to get a plan with. Im a college student and im in nursing school so they want us to have health insurance in case we get hurt or exposed to anything at any of the hospitals we work at. Im not required to have it but i would like to look around and see if there is a good plan that I could afford. So in case something like that would happen i wont be paying for the required treatment completely out of my pocket. Thanks for the help.
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December 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
If you are in college, you may want to check out health insurance programs that are written through your school. United Healthcare has a plan available at many US schools. These student injury and illness plans provide wide ranging coverage and are designed to be affordable for college students. To check if your school is participating, go to http://www.UHCSR.com and enter your school name in the search box. You might also be interested in joining the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA), a national organization for nursing students. They have lots of member benefits, including student health insurance. Their membership fee is affordable.
December 22nd, 2009 at 8:19 pm
don’t get an HMO !!!
find a local agent to help shop the market for you …
agents usually do not charge a fee for this service.
look into a high deductible PPO plan …
something where your annual physicals and well-women check ups are covered at just a co-pay … and your deductible kicks in for major hospitalizations or surgeries …
at least this way … you will have a cap (maximum out of pocket) on expenses.
GOOD LUCK
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:14 am
It’s looking likely that my daughter will be going to college out-of-state next year. I just learned today that our medical insurance, through my employer, will cover her in California, only. It will cover her for emergencies outside of CA, but even that might be dicey, I suppose, if she’s really living out of state full time. I’m sure some of you have been through this and can offer some advice. Do I take her off of my medical plan and sign her up for medical insurance through the university? It’s expensive! Should I pay out of pocket for little things that might come up while she’s away and keep her on my current plan (Blue Cross HMO) for emergencies? Thanks for any advice you can offer. Soon to be Mom of a college student
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Check to see if your Blue Cross HMO has any providers (doctors, hospitals, etc.) under contract in the area where your child will be going to school. If the number is limited or nonexistent, then the coverage (your current coverage) will be of little value to your child while she is in school. Check the school’s plan to see if it is a comprehensive plan. If it is, it might be better to have your child insured under that plan, but make sure that she will be covered outside of the school year and in her home area as well as the area where she goes to school. If you have additional questions, feel free to e-mail me directly. Robert
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My son turned 23 and was taken off his health insurance. I contacted Jean Sturges, a health insurance agent I found through this web site. She recommended a Health Net plan that costs $51 per month and has a 25% deductible for each visit up to $1500 per year. He can get a physical for free, I think, according to her. The plan only covers a few generic medications and does not cover birth control or pregnancy for girls. He got the plan by answering no to every question– I would have put a few minor things down but she encouraged us not to list them. He is on no medications, has no health problems, eats a healthy diet and exercizes regularly. anon
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It really depends on how much of a gambler you are–will your child get sick at college or not? I don’t think any of us can predict that, and I’ve heard lots of stories of students getting sick or injured at college. Plus, most students do not have cars or know how to look for a new doctor in a new town, especially if they’re sick. I think it’s important that children are insured so that they can immediately seek medical treatment if needed, in a convenient way. Your choices are to opt for the college insurance (that’s the way I’d go) or to take out an individual policy for your child. Blue Cross, Atena, Blue Shield all offer individual policies; the problem is these policies often have high deductibles. I would think that the last thing to skimp on would be health insurance for your child. Anonymous
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We have kept our daughter on our medical plan and, in addition, purchased the (in-state) university’s student medical plan. If she used our plan at school, she would have to travel a substantial distance to see a doctor (and she doesn’t have a car). The school has a clinic on-site. In almost two years (she is a sophomore) she has only gone to the clinic once. During winter quarter this year she got sick and couldn’t shake a fever for a few days. Going to the on-campus clinic enabled her to get a doctor’s slip which meant some of her assignment due dates could be delayed because she was so sick. susan
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We have Kaiser and this is how we’ve handled it. Ours attends college in Chicago. We fly her home for occasional weekends when it makes sense to use the medical facilities we pay for here—-she notifies her profs in advance of missing a Friday or a Monday because she’s here for a 3 day weekend, using the weekday to see dentist, dermatology, lab work, primary physician, orthodontist (lost her retainer), whatever. For illnesses when she’s back in Chicago, such as repeated strep throat last year, she went to the emergency room and unfortunately missed classes in order to sit there for several hours to be seen by a doctor. Just like your coverage, Kaiser only covers E.R. and Urgent Care outside their contract territories. Pharmacy: she mailed us her receipts and I forwarded them to Kaiser Claims.
Follow-up care after emergency room: she went to Urgent Care (sometimes called Immediate Care), which is covered, and got medical attention there— follow-up and pharmacy. The biggest headache has been simply to get the kid to remember to fill out the Kaiser Claims address instead of our address (especially pharmacy, be