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Student Health Plans Information
If your health insurance plan does not cover college students, you should know what type of health plans are offered at your child's university.
College health insurance basics:
College health insurance plan for students usually cover office visits, but they may be charged a co-pay for lab work, x-rays, physical therapy, prescriptions, and procedures such as treatment for a wound. Mental health, newborn and infant care, routine pap and pelvic exams, routine AIDS/STD testing, as well as cholesterol screenings are other services covered.
Out-of-network problems:
If your child chooses a college out of state, and you want them to get prompt medical care without having to call home for a physician's referral, you should consider the college health plan offered by their school - the health insurance networks, and the different types of plans.
When evaluating a college health insurance policy, there are few things you should consider:
Find out:
• Are there restrictions on the providers a student can use?
• If the student is on vacation, what kind of coverage do they have?
• If the student is not enrolled in classes (during summer or winter break) do they still have health insurance coverage?
• Are the most efficient treatment facilities at the college easily accessible?
• What are the low-cost or free services that are offered through the campus health clinic?
Lapse in student health insurance coverage:
Under HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), If your child has a pre-existing medical condition, a lapse in health insurance coverage could cause problems later, ie. it can only be subject to coverage exclusions for 12 months (or 18 months in the case of late plan enrollment). However, if qualifying coverage is maintained without a lapse of 63 days, the company must subtract the length of coverage from the exclusion period.
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