How to Get Insurance Coverage for College Students

Student Health Insurance: A Quick Guide to Staying Healthy While You Study

by Wes Markham

College students need a lot of things when they head off to school: clothes, furniture, a computer… the list goes on. But perhaps the most important of all of these things is health insurance. After all, even college students aren’t invincible.

And while getting health insurance may not be the most interesting or exciting aspect of your college experience, it is well worth your time to research your options.

Parents’ Employer-Provided Plan: The first way to get a college student health insurance is for the student to receive coverage under a plan provided by a parent’s employer. In fact, these plans are required by law to cover an employee’s children until they are 26 years old.

However, some HMOs only provide coverage to a specific geographic region. If you are attending school outside of this area, you may need to look at other options.

COBRA: If you have left a job that provided you with health-care coverage, or you are no longer eligible to be covered under your parents’ plan, you are eligible to extend your previous coverage for 18 months. However, you will be responsible for paying the full premium for this coverage, making it quite expensive (usually much of the premium is paid for by your employer).

Unfortunately, you can never anticipate the unexpected. Even though COBRA can be expensive, it is not nearly as costly as having to pay the full bill for an emergency or surgery.

School-Provided Insurance: See if your school offers health insurance. Many colleges have inexpensive health coverage available to students through contracts with major insurance providers. In fact, some schools even require health insurance as a precondition for enrollment.

Many schools that offer health insurance have a variety of plans available. These can range from simple accident coverage to comprehensive coverage for major medical issues. You can customize your plan to your individual needs, but it’s a good idea to get a plan that at least covers regular check-ups as well as access to the student health center and coverage for prescriptions.

Other Options:

• Private Insurance. If you are not eligible for receiving health care under your parents’ plan, you can look into purchasing private insurance through a broker. However, this is a rather expensive option. Group plans are able to negotiate better deals from insurance companies than you can on your own, so you can expect to have either a high monthly payment or a high deductible. Not only that, but brokers charge fees that will only bump the price-tag of private insurance higher.
• Community Health Centers. If you do not have insurance, and cannot get it through your parents, an employer, your school or COBRA, there are still options. Certified Community Health Centers can provide you with immunizations, basic care, and other, non-emergency care without insurance. For individual visits, you may save money over health insurance, but these Community Health Centers will not provide any shielding from the full bill of emergency medical attention provided elsewhere.