<p>We opted to turn down the university-supplied medical insurance and kept D on our medical plan. Due to being a Div.1 athlete competing all 3 seasons, she has had some minor soft tissue injuries or suspected stress fractures that have required a number of diagnostic x-rays and MRI’s. This is in addition to some normal stuff (eg. upper respiratory issues) that she would have just ridden out, except that the team trainer required her to go to see the doctor. As you can imagine, the bills for MRI’s and x-rays have been pretty high. (Our insurance company seems to be getting suspicious, LOL. We’ve been sent numerous letters from cost recovery companies, for example.) For medical visits tied to her sports participation, the school pays any balance our insurance does not. Certain operations like ACL repair, rotator cuff repair, must be commonly needed by athletes in other sports.</p>
<p>Therefore, given how much money we would have had to pay just in the excess-of-coverage bills, I got to thinking I had better be really careful with athletic D2 that her future school will be equally generous with funding for the athletics-related medical expenses.</p>
<p>I was interested in hearing how this is handled at other schools? Is there a difference between Div. 1 and 3 programs? Have any of you been been stuck with a lot of bills related to your student’s college sports participation?</p>
<p>Ah yes…we too have had our share of MRIs and we also opted out of the university health insurance. She’s D1 (Ivy) and there is a great staff of trainers to take care of most things, but when it’s time to see a doctor - her medical expenses are entirely our responsibility. She was always healthy through HS so we took a gamble by keeping her on our high-deductible plan.</p>
<p>D wasn’t injured much in high school, and never needed diagnostic imaging more than once. For most muscle and tendon issues in high school, the standard practice was ice and rest, and both were free! Only if the problem persisted or worsened after a rest/cross training period (2-3 weeks), would imaging be recommended. In college, they like to get the athletes back training normally as soon as possible, so they tend to ask them to be x-rayed or MRIed early on, to make sure the problem is not more serious than they think it is. This is an expensive approach. </p>
<p>Just to be clear, varska, are you saying that if your D is injured by playing her sport–eg. she breaks a bone–the school’s athletic program does not pay for any part of her care?</p>
<p>Also, would your situation be any better had you selected the school plan? Seems to me that would be equally expensive.</p>
<p>Correct. The school doesn’t pay her medical expenses as an athlete any more than they would a non-athlete who tripped on the stairs of her dorm. We really had no expectation going in that she would be treated differently. As for whether we would’ve been better taking the school plan - this year we probably would have. Last year, no. </p>
<p>They do seem quick to recommend the (expensive) diagnostics so they can tailor rehab accordingly. We have the option to decline, of course, but haven’t so far.</p>
<p>My daughter tore her ACL this season, we opted out of school medical plan, we have insurance thru my husbands job. The expenses have all been covered by insurance and anything extra the school athletic dept covered, including the co-pays for PT… The school has been great in that regard. The one thing we did wrong was the fact that we have an HMO and we had not moved her primary to the area of her school. Fortunately the tear was on Oct 31st so on May 1st with A LOT of time on the phone with the school, insurance co etc.we got her to a primary there, who would refer her to the surgeon the school uses… It was a pain in the butt in the beginning but it all worked out and cost us nothing out of pocket.<br>
If you have an HMO don’t forget to transfer a primary to the athletes area!!!</p>