Playing Rugby in College, I tore my pectoral muscle. I didn't go to an emergency room at a hospital, instead I went to the 24 clinic at my school, because I had bought student health.

Too bad they didn't recognize the tear. I now have a hole in my chest, and no re-course.

Say "No" to Student Health Plans.
Kevin Sullivan | Homepage | 04.10.08 - 7:20 pm | #

It gets worse. More and more universities are coming around to requiring students purchase the student health plan if they can't show that they're on their parents' plan or are purchasing a plan of their own.

The biggest issuer of student health plans: MEGA Life & Health. 'Nuff said.
Rick | 04.11.08 - 10:27 am | #

That is bad to hear, luckily over here in the UK we don need to worry about that unless we are studying abroad which sadly a lot of our students going abroad tend to forget.
Travel Insurance | Homepage | 04.12.08 - 10:24 am | #

Two college age sons, one with osteosarcoma. His care cost hundreds of thousands of our excellent family health insurance coverage, although we had to fight to keep him on it after he turned 23. (Blue Cross wasn't sure that cancer is a life-threatening condition.) Nevertheless, his care didn't cost us a penny beyond the deductible. How fortunate, if he had to have this disease he had it when he still had family coverage.
In contrast, his brother, also in college and now covered by a college health insurance plan by the Chickering Group has a mild bipolar disorder, easily controlled by medication. The "insurance" limit on medication coverage was hit in the second month and we now pay about $500/month to keep him well. It's a good investment: with the medication, he's a straight A student at a good college. Without it, he couldn't even get to class.
And don't get me started on the quality of student health care. It was the University student health center that told my son that the pain in his ankle (osteosarcoma) was a sprain. When he went back some weeks later, they said "these things take time".
It's time to get rid of the whole insurance mess and move to a single-payer system. Not that any of the candidates have supported it.
Mary B. | 04.16.08 - 1:44 pm | #

Thank you for your comments. Sounds like you have been through the wringer with both your sons.

As for single payer, there is no proof that such a plan will be an improvement. If anything, the health care system will be worse should a single payer finally make it through congress. There is plenty of information on this site,and other areas that support this view.

There is no substitute for reading your contract before you purchase and making sure you know what is, and what is not covered.

Most of my clients purchase separate policies on their children once they turn 18. This avoids many of the issues you have raised.
Bob Vineyard, CLU | Homepage | 04.16.08 - 4:54 pm | #

Echoing one of the comments above, many colleges/universities now require that students either have their own coverage (usually through a parent's group health plan) of buy the plan offerred through the University.

I'm in the insurance business, although not life/health, but I do know a little bit about reading a policy and understanding coverage. When my son enrolled at Villanova in 2006, I was obliged to provide a recap of the coverage afforded through my group plan, "in order that the University Health Center staff could make certain it was sufficient enough".

However, when I sought to do a similar analysis of the plan offerred through the University, such information was (at least initially) not available. The University was putting the analytics into a one-sided process - they would decide if my coverage was sufficient, but would not disclose enough details about the "competing" plan to make any independent judgement. And, their decision was (at least at first) alleged to be final - if they deemed my own coverage to be insufficient (for whatever reason), my son would be obliged to take the "sponsored" plan.

This didn't sit too well with me - I spoke to a few of the University administrators, and asked what the analytic criteria were. No real answers were forthcoming in that area. Then I tried the "hardball" approach - I insisted on knowing who the agent was that would be placing the "sponsored" program, with the intention of inquiring through that avenue. Not much help there - the agency merely sent out another copy of their rather useless brochure detailing how their program was sponsored by the University, and 100% approved by the Student Health Service staff. Not much about the actual coverage (as others up-thread have related), which is largely minimal at best.

Strangely enough, the Student Health "experts" deemed my group coverage to be lacking, and started to force my son into the "sponsored" program. That's when I decided to view this as a battle, rather than a dialogue. I didn't get an explanation of why my own group coverage was insufficient until after enlisting the assistance of the PA Department of Insurance, and threatening the agent with having his license terminated. It was only then that I started to cop to the real reason my coverage wasn't up to snuff - the Student Health Service folks realized that my group plan deemed the local hospital to be "out of network", as well as the in-house staff at the University. Thus, the University would not be in a position to merely make a claim directly against my insurer for any charges incurred, and would have to rely on my paying a higher co-pay and/or deductible.

I should also mention that the incremental cost (to me) to cover my son is only approx. $200/year, yet the "sponsored" program would cost about $900, for only 8 months' worth of coverage (there's extremely little coverage applicable when school is not in session, or when a full-time student becomes a part-time student due to internships or extenships).

One quickly realizes that this entire situation is a comfortable little "racket" run by the schools, with the agents' assistance. The school gets what I suspect is a sizable chunk of dough as a "sponsors fee" or a "co-marketing" expense, and the agent makes a comfortable living off a program that has little paperwork. Everybody is happy, except the student has coverage that is woefully inadequate (it DOES pay for the physicians' assistants at the Health Service, however), and that will be insufficient to cover anything more than an occasional traumatic injury. They like to call it "health insurance", but it is really only coverage for emergency-room fees, or other "well-baby" visits.

In the end, I had to force the University to admit that their "sponsored" plan offerred less coverage, for more money, with more restrictions than my own group coverage. They agreed to "make an exception" in my case, but I suspect that they'll only do that when they are confronted with superior firepower. Countless other parents (or students) are paying through the nose for coverage that is largely useless.
Drew B. | 04.24.08 - 11:12 am | #

Drew -

I appreciate your comments and can say I have run into something similar.

One of my clients enrolled at GSU last fall. She and her husband are covered under an HDHP/HSA. When GSU "reviewed" her plan it was deemed inadequate due to the high deductible. The plan offered (mandated) by the school was a low deductible plan with copays but very limited benefits on a major claim and no Rx cover.

She protested, even asked for my assistance. The university agreed to consider her request and give their response by the beginning of the next semester. In the interim, if she was to enroll for the current semester she would need to buy their lousy coverage.

Rather than delaying her education, she agreed to submit to the extortion and buy the overpriced, low benefit plan.

This is dirty politics that apparently goes on with impunity.
Bob Vineyard, CLU | Homepage | 04.24.08 - 10:02 pm | #