???s about insurance for college students

liland · 03-09-2008, 07:04 PM

We're moving to Europe this summer and we're trying to decide how to best insure our 20 year old daughter, who will be a senior in college and will study abroad during the fall quarter, and our 18 year old son, who will be a freshman. They are currently insured under our family plan.

Any suggestions?

mominva · 03-09-2008, 07:27 PM

If your move is job related, they should still be covered. Talk with HR to determine the best plan for both continents.

liland · 03-09-2008, 07:46 PM

mominva, thanks for your response.

Sorry, I should have explained that we're in the USA as expatriates. Our children are covered under our plan while we're here, but they won't be when we move.

thumper1 · 03-09-2008, 07:47 PM

You should check the health insurance that the college offers. It is not as inclusive as a private plan but it does cover a lot.

liland · 03-09-2008, 07:58 PM

Thumper, thanks for the advice. We asked our daughter to talk with some students who use the school plan and they didn't think it was the best plan for the cost. Unfortunately, they didn't know of any better alternatives.

I was reading one of the featured threads on CC about what parents have told their children about life after college and someone mentioned an insurance policy offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield for young adults. Would this be a good option?

thumper1 · 03-09-2008, 08:02 PM

College kids would be the LAST ones to know what is a good value in health insurance. The plans my daughter's college offered were quite good. They even had some very limited prescription coverage. I don't recall what the arrangement for doctor's care was (we opted out because our kids are covered under OUR plan) but I don't recall it was bad. It's not as good as a private plan but it was fine. For "basic" medical needs, my kids go to the student health center anyway. The general docs there know when to refer on, but they can treat the aches and pains (fevers, etc) that college kids get. My daughter's college plan is under $2000 per year. I seriously doubt that you will find private coverage for that price...but you can check.

jmmom · 03-09-2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

You should check the health insurance that the college offers. It is not as inclusive as a private plan but it does cover a lot.

For those of us poor souls who are self-employed/independent contractors and, ergo, not part of groups with quality health insurance, what the college offers can be *far better* than our private plan.

That is the case with us. We moved DS off of our plan onto the University plan as soon as it was available. It costs us roughly the same monthly for him ($100+/month), but offers much better benefits. We also checked at the time what his options would be once he graduates if, perish the thought, he does not immediately obtain a job with benefits. There are plans out there for young adults. Maybe not the greatest, but at least covering for catastrophic. I don't remember the details, but this is pretty easy to research.

mominva · 03-09-2008, 08:31 PM

liland
go to eHealthinsurance dot com

That is where I found interim health insurance for my college grads for between graduation and job start.

We live in a Kaiser HMO area and got individual insurance for $171/month

Puzzled88 · 03-09-2008, 09:34 PM

You might also check to see if your daughter's college insurance plan offers an option to enroll for an additional period after graduation. It's so hard for kids to get a job with health insurance the minute after they finish. I know my youngest child goes to a college that lets students enroll for 6 months of additional coverage after graduation; I'm thinking of putting her on the school policy for her last semester just so she qualifies for that. When our eldest finished college we paid for Kaiser for her for a year (at almost exactly the rate quoted by mominva) before she got insurance through her job. When I was researching the various options for her (I did use eHealthinsurance as a resource) I noticed that many of the Blue Cross type plans that are less expensive and aimed toward young people do not cover pregnancy. That certainly wasn't something I anticipated for my child but a friend in the insurance business told me to steer clear of any such policy just in case.

thisoldman · 03-09-2008, 10:47 PM

A 20% deduct, $3500 max out-of-pocket, no meds, no dental is <$91/mn for 23yo. Worldwide coverage, BX/BS. Regence.com . I think you can do better than $2000/year.

liland · 03-10-2008, 07:49 AM

Thanks for all of the helpful responses! I'll research what our daughter and son's colleges offer as far as insurance and take a look at the other websites that were suggested. With trying to sell our house and counting down to April 1 when we will (hopefully) know where our son will be for the next four years, I haven't focused on insurance for the kids yet. Thanks again for the great tips and giving me the impetus to get started.

violadad · 03-10-2008, 08:10 AM

liland, there are often short term stop gap plans offered through the school's alumni associations; some honor, social, and professional "fraternaties" offer these as well. Just some additional places to investigate.

jude_36 · 03-10-2008, 08:21 AM

Blue Cross does offer an option called Tonik. It's not available everywhere, only in a few states, but they have a website, tonik dot com. If you get insurance through your employer, you would also have COBRA rights for your kids, and they would be able to stay on the employer health plan for 18-36 months, depending on the circumstances.

Another option would be to ask your employer to put you in touch with their insurance broker, who may be able to get you several reasonable quotes without much hassle on your part.

blossom · 03-10-2008, 08:31 AM

Go online. A healthy non-smoking young adult can get major medical coverage (high deductible but good emergency coverage) for around $50 per month. My kids had one (exactly one) visit to the U's health center in the combined 8 years they were in college; it was for pink-eye and the ointment to treat it cost $10. If we had been paying big bucks for a full blown prescription/procedure/specialist type plan to cover a $100 office visit and a 10 dollar prescription we'd have been aggravated, but their schools allowed you to waive their coverage if you had major medical from another source.

However, self insurance (essentially what you're doing with a catastrophic policy) won't work if your kids have a chronic condition, need to see specialists for diabetes management or ongoing medical care. Do your kids plan to do athletics in college???? If so, you may need to fully explore the U's plan-- even a routine Xray for a sprained wrist or ankle plus follow up care with an orthopedist can start to cost big money. Also- if your kids smoke... the calculus starts to change.