College students, like the rest of us, need healthcare insurance.
However, the typical medical insurance contract marketed as "student health insurance" has several major deficiencies.
These major deficiencies may mean that the healthcare policy offered through your university should be avoided.
Many health care insurance policies sold through colleges have limited benefits.
They will often limit the amount they will pay for medical expenses much more than will a health insurance policy that may be available directly from Blue Cross Blue Shield or through one of the other major companies.
You should look out for three types of restrictions.
The first is a per incident limit.
A policy might place a low ceiling on what it will pay for any one accident or illness.
The second benefit restriction to watch out for is the cap to what the medical insurance contract will pay in one year.
The third benefit limit to be aware of is the lifetime benefit restriction.
The policy marketed through your university might have a $20,000 calendar year maximum on benefits.
If the student was covered as a dependent on a parent's policy, they might not have any calendar year cap on the major benefits.
There may be a lifetime restriction of several million dollars and calendar year limits on prescriptions, but no separate annual cap on hospital expenses or physician expenses.
"Student healthcare Insurance" contracts are not all bad.
The benefit limits may be adequate unless you have a major expense.
However, they are often purchased by people who are unaware of their deficiencies.
They will typically think that these health insurance contracts are cheap because they are getting a group discount.
They are low in cost for two main reasons.
Students are young and tend to have fewer claims.
They offer less in benefits.
Being aware of the deficiencies of medical insurance plans marketed to students is only half the battle.
You should also be able to compare the benefits offered from other sources because not all of these policies are robust and benefit rich either.
There are several things to look out for when shopping for healthcare insurance.
Health insurance contracts with annual restrictions on their hospital and medical doctor benefits should be avoided.
Policies with caps on what they will pay per accident or per sickness should also be avoided.
Medical insurance plans that pay only for accidents offer far too little protection.
These should also be avoided.
Health insurance contracts that pay only in the hospital or severely limit what they pay in the physicians' office should also be avoided.
You will find a section in the back of a plan's outline of coverage or brochure that will list many of the caps of the plan.
This section is usually entitled something like "Exclusions and Limitations.
" The exclusions and limitations may be in two separate sections of the document.
You should read this section carefully.
All policies will have some limitations or exclusions, however some have more limitations and exclusions than others.
Most contracts that are offered today have network lists of doctors and hospitals.
If you go to a physician or hospital that is not on their list, you will find yourself getting a lower level of reimbursement than you would otherwise or getting no reimbursement at all.
Be sure to make sure that the network includes physicians and hospitals that are convenient to you when you are home and also when you are at school.
Many people will automatically purchase the medical insurance contract sold by their university, but these are usually limited benefit plans.
Be sure to understand what any plan you are considering purchasing covers and doesn't cover before you purchase.
You will probably get much better insurance coverage as a dependent on a parent's plan or from a plan you can purchase directly from a major company than you can get from a plan marketed as "student health care insurance.
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