Health Insurance Options for Students

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Being in the prime of their lives as well as having youth and vigor on their side often lead students to believing that they do not need health insurance because such policies are for the ‘old’ people! This is what prompted the mandatory health law to take effect. They figure that even though you’re young, without the protection of a health insurance policy, a small injury is also capable of putting you at major financial risk. Plus they need to help make it more affordable for those with prior conditions; healthier, younger people paying premiums will help subsidize those who aren’t as healthy. Another great reason for students to get insurance coverage would be the fact that students often get a lot of discounts on such insurance policies since they are not really ‘high risk’ customers, i.e. they are not very likely to fall ill or develop fatal diseases.

When it comes to health insurance options for students, there are plenty of coverage to choose from. If you want to save money then you can get sheltered under the umbrella of the health insurance policy of your parents, as long as you’re up to twenty six years of age. Such students can easily gain access to the network of the insurance policy plan of their parents and enjoy coverage without necessarily investing in a new plan.

Instead of opting for insurance coverage from their parents’ insurance plan, students also have the option of signing up for a health plan at their school. A lot of colleges and schools offer health insurance coverage to their students, which aren’t there just for namesake but they actually pay claims too! While the premium for the school insurance plan may be extremely reasonable because of the massive amount of students, this kind of plan may not necessarily be very flexible or suitable for the students. A lot of times, it is noticed that such insurance policies provide even lesser coverage as opposed to an individual health insurance policy.

The third option that students in the USA have when they are looking for health insurance coverage is to purchase subsidized healthcare coverage from online marketplaces or new healthcare insurance exchanges. Students opting for these may qualify for tax credits on the basis of their household income, which may help in significantly bringing down the monthly insurance premium. Thus, students generally go for this option because of the price benefit as opposed to the quality of the coverage.

Students can also apply for a health insurance coverage via Medicaid, which is a health insurance program supported by the federal-state. This is generally the option for students who hail from low-income families. Earlier the eligibility criteria of Medicaid was extremely strict and it did not include children or expecting mothers but today it has been revised to include students who are up to sixty five years of age! Thus, be sure to check out the eligibility criteria first before signing up for this option.

When zeroing in on a particular health insurance option, it is advisable for students to evaluate the benefits provided by the insurance and its coverage well to find out whether the policy will actually come to use in case of a mishap or not.