Posted on Wed, May 20, 2009
As graduates across the country are preparing for new adventures and responsibilities, the importance of affordable health insurance coverage is becoming a reality. In a new poll released by UnitedHealth Group, Inc, over 2/3 of young adults in the US know they need affordable health insurance, but over half of them say they don’t have the information they need to choose the right type of coverage to meet their needs.
1,000 young adults were polled and 67% of them haven’t made any plans for health insurance. While these 18 – 21 year olds know they need medical insurance coverage, they aren’t clear about the coverage they have through their parents and don’t even know when that coverage will end.
Young adults are in the largest and fastest growing group of the 46 million uninsured people in the US. This alarmingly large group of Americans, along with the 25 million underinsured, is facing incredible risk by not having appropriate coverage in the case of a medical need.
When you need affordable medical insurance and you cannot get coverage through your employer, it can be confusing how to even begin the process of finding health coverage on your own.
Determine your insurance needs: Before you can find the most affordable health insurance plan, you need to understand how insurance policies work. When it comes to cost, there are two things to understand -the deductible and the co-pay. Nearly all insurance plans have both a deductible and co-pay you are responsible to pay.
The deductible is the amount of medical expenses you have to pay out of pocket before your insurance coverage kicks in. The co-pay is the portion of each individual charge you must pay, in addition to the insurance company’s portion. For example, if you have a $500 deductible, you are responsible to pay the first $500 of medical expenses per year, before your insurance company pays anything. With the co-pay, you must pay a percentage of each charge, often at the time of your service.
To help keep your health insurance affordable, you have options how you pay these expenses. If you are in reasonably good health, choose a lower deductible and higher co-payment. If however, you go to the doctor fairly often, you pay be better off with lower co-payments, but a higher deductible. Once your annual deductible is reached, you will have less expense through out the year. For the most affordable health insurance premium, choose both higher deductibles and higher co-payments. This will at least spread your costs out over a length of time.
You can compare rates and plans for medical insurance online. This way you can look at several different types of policies from different companies and take your time deciding the best option for your medical insurance needs.
It is very important for young adults to have a good understanding of the type of insurance they need. With the large number of health insurance companies, as well as the variety in policies and coverage, the only way to find the most affordable health care coverage is to do some research and compare your options. Most importantly, however, is to avoid going with non health insurance at all so you don’t wind up with huge expenses you cannot afford to pay.
Posted on Tue, Mar 03, 2009
The first thing you need to do if you are trying to save money on student medical insurance is to find out the requirements for your college. This will ensure that you are being quoted on the proper amount of coverage. It will also ensure that you are not wasting time looking for your own individual policy when your college requires that you carry theirs. If you indeed have the right to purchase outside student health insurance, it may be to your benefit to find out more about the health clinic on campus, if there is one. Can you use it if you don’t have the college’s specific insurance? If you can, make sure you opt for a plan that has the clinic in its preferred network of providers.
Almost all colleges and universities offer student health insurance to those who attend their school. In fact for many schools, having health insurance is a requirement for admission. To make it easy on students, most colleges offer a group plan that is comprehensive and meets most students’ needs. In fact, your college may require you to carry this insurance. However, in most cases, you simply need to have some type of student health insurance that is at least as good as the one offered by the college. This leaves some room for you to find a more economical and tailored policy of your own.
Student health coverage insurance provided by colleges is basically the same as group medical insurance from an employer. It is a group policy, with everyone paying the same rate regardless of health and history. What this means is that even if you are very healthy and rarely see a doctor, you will pay the same amount as someone who has chronic health problems and needs continual healthcare. Healthy students who have the option of carrying their own individual medical insurance will often be able to save money because they will not be subsidizing healthcare for less healthy students.
By choosing to carry your own student health insurance you may also be able to save yourself additional money by tailoring your policy to your needs. If you are only concerned with insuring yourself in case of major illness or injury, you can get a policy which is designed to do just that. Such policies tend to be a bargain. You can also opt to raise co-insurance percentages, co-payments and deductibles for a lower monthly premium. You can choose to opt out of coverage you may not need often like dental, vision and prescription coverage. There are many discount providers on the market who can provide such services at a very low price now. Before making these changes, be sure to check on the health insurance requirements for your school to make sure you meet the minimum levels.
Colleges and universities choose to offer health insurance for the well-being of their students and the campus as a whole. It is a very convenient option, but not one that works best for every single student. If you are one of those who feel that the student medical insurance plan at your school is not for you or you would like to save money on insurance, you have many other student health insurance options available to you.