Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all adults are able to remain on their family’s health insurance plan until their 26th birthday.
Because of this, and the adoption of Medicaid, the number of young adults without health insurance has dipped drastically, particularly among young people of color. Besides being mandatory, having health insurance is a barrier against the costs of all sorts of medical emergencies, many of which are extremely common amongst college-aged people. Below, I talked to several college students about their first- and secondhand experiences with health insurance provided by their schools, and how it stands up against privatized plans.
The first student I spoke with was Ashley, who, while not currently covered by her school’s plan, was able to speak on her roommate’s experience using it. “My roommate’s health insurance wasn’t able to be waived, so she’s kind of ‘double insured’ in the sense that she has coverage on campus and whenever she goes home for breaks,” Ashley explained.
Even if your family health insurance is unable to be waived, doubling up on both the student and the family plan can offer an extra element of security, especially for students who live out of state and want to be covered by their insurance policies both on- and off-campus.
For those whose family plan is waived, or those who were previously uninsured, school health insurance often offers more extensive coverage than any existing private plan. “That’s the case for a lot of uninsured people on campus,” Ashley said. “They’re getting birth control for the first time, or a wisdom tooth pulled that they couldn’t afford before.”
School health insurance also allows students more privacy than being under their family plans. All health insurance policies are legally required to keep your health information confidential; however, they are able to send the owner of the insurance an Explanation of Benefits (EOB). An EOB gives information on what the health insurance was used for, when it was used, and how much the insurance holder must pay. If a student is under the family’s health plan, their EOB will go to their parents, which might be an issue if say, the student made an appointment to get birth control, but does not want their family to know. Under a school health plan, the student is the insurance holder, so they will be the one to receive their EOB.
College health insurance also cuts back on co-pays, or the amount that you have to pay when you go in for a medical service. For example, at Ashley’s school, “student co-pays rarely go above $70…if it all”, and “birth control is free under school insurance.”
This is common not just for Ashley’s school, but on many other college campuses as well. In fact, under the ACA, all health insurance policies must cover at least one form of FDA-approved birth control, unless the policy falls under three main exceptions, including coming from a religious college or university. Student health co-pays also come to little to no cost for a variety of other services besides birth control, and if the student plan is fully insured, the student can take full advantage of all the health benefits accessible under the ACA.
Those who opt out of using their school’s health insurance policy, like student Ellie Smith, list the cost as one of the downsides of the plan. “I don’t use the insurance from my school because it costs an extra $900 a year,” Smith said. “I’m still on my parent’s insurance plan…there’s no reason to pay almost a grand more for the same coverage.” Ashley agreed; she is currently on a federal health plan, and even though she has to pay higher co-pays than her peers on the college plan, “there’s always satisfying coverage no matter where I am.”
Plus, some schools allow you to take advantage of their on-campus medical clinics whether you’re on their plan or not, something Ashley has taken advantage of. “One visit [to the student health clinic] is way cheaper than paying [for student health insurance] for a whole year and not using it.” Ashley said.
Obviously health insurance (and what it can cover) is a weighty topic, but it’s important for students to know their options when it comes to accessing safe, affordable healthcare. As of 2013, medical debts were the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.; having health insurance can lessen the burden of those costs.
Did you use your school’s health plan when you were a student, or are you currently on your college’s plan? Why or why not? Let me know below.
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