Student Health Insurance
None of us ever wish for a health-related crisis to occur, yet it's important to plan for this possible "what if." Determining your student's health insurance specifics for the upcoming year requires knowledge and prior planning.

First of all, many young people can now be covered on their parents' health insurance until they're 26 years old, thanks to the recent Affordable Care Act ruling from the White House. The key is making sure that this coverage doesn't negatively intersect with campus coverage.

Overall, families are overcharged $2.3 billion to $2.9 billion annually for health center fees and premiums, according to research commissioned by Highland Campus Health Group. So, before your student heads to school this fall, figure out what's what so that you don't fall into that startling figure. For instance, how will your student use the campus health center? What local hospital will he/she be affiliated with?

And then, once your student arrives on campus, figure out the following things, recommends James Turner, president of the American College Health Association:

• What's the process for billing?
  
• What methods are used for payment?
  
• How will you obtain receipts for insurance reimbursement?
  
• How will you budget for these costs?

Talk with your insurance agent now as you plan for fall. This prior planning can lead to good peace of mind.

"The Affordable Care Act requires plans and issuers that offer coverage to children on their parents' plan to make the coverage available until the adult child reaches the age of 26. Many parents and their children who worried about losing health insurance after the children moved away from home or graduated from college no longer need to worry."

- Affordable Care Act Fact Sheet from the White House

Accessing Insurance: What Young Adults & Parents Need to Do

• Check for immediate options
  
• Watch for open enrollment
  
• Expect an offer of continued enrollment

The implementation date required by the Act is Sept. 23, 2010, although Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has called on leading insurance companies to begin covering young adults voluntarily before this date.

Learn more about it all at www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/10/a-long-overdue-change-help-young-adults-get-coverage.

Sources:
The Aggregator, The Wall Street Journal, 5/9/10; The New York Times, 5/10/10