College Student Healthcare: What Are Your Options?
A gaggle of high school students are heading to college in just a few months. And yet, there’s a good chance that many of them (and their families) haven’t discussed one of their highest priorities: Their health—or to be a bit more specific, their health insurance coverage.
The Tea
Over the past few weeks, more than 3 million high school students have put on a cap and gown and clenched a diploma in their hand. According to the National Center on Education Statistics, we can expect roughly 60% of those—so, a couple million students—to be hitting the books at a college or university this fall.
If you or your families were anything like us or ours, you had plenty on your mind, most of it about money or logistics. How is your college-bound student paying for tuition? How much stuff can they bring to the dorm (and when)? Should they get a summer job to earn some extra cash ahead of the new school year? What about a new computer? Is a parking pass worth it if their car is always a 30-minute bus ride away? (Shout-out to OSU’s West Campus parking lots!)
It’s a lot to think about, but we’re tossing one more critical question on the pile: What is their health insurance going to look like?
Don’t worry—we won’t leave you hanging. Today, we’re talking to Jenny Chumbley Hogue, an analyst with Healthinsurance.org, about how to get your college-bound student’s health insurance situation settled before they reach campus.
The Take
First things first: Let’s talk about the options students have regarding health insurance coverage. After that, we’ll dive into a few important particulars—important dates, potential costs, and a few things you’ll want to consider before signing up with any plan.
Healthcare Choices
Young adults likely will have several options depending on their circumstance, but the ones that stand out are:
- Parent’s Health Insurance Plan: Young adults may stay on their parents’ plan until age 26, and it’s a pretty common option. This works well if the student’s school is close to home, as they can likely keep seeing their current doctors and other medical providers. And it should be considered a top option if it provides the required amount of coverage (more on that in a moment) for the student at their university.
- Marketplace Coverage: Every state offers a marketplace where you can find Affordable Care Act-compliant plans that cover your essential needs (and more, should you wish). You can only enroll for marketplace plans during the annual open enrollment period, which is Nov. 1-Dec. 15, or during special enrollment periods, which are triggered by various life events—which can include moving to a new place to attend school. Students might be eligible for ACA plan subsidies; just note that parents’ income will be counted if the student is still listed as a tax dependent. Chumbley Hogue says if you’re considering the Marketplace route, “start at HealthCare.gov and put in your ZIP code, and it will direct you to the right Marketplace.”
- College Plans: Many universities and colleges offer their own student health insurance plans that will cover medicines, doctor’s visits, emergency-room stays and more, just like a traditional health plan. Just note that while many are ACA-compliant, not all are, so do your homework.
- Employer Coverage: While this won’t apply to many freshmen, some students work jobs in college that include employer-sponsored healthcare coverage. That said, in many cases, those plans might not begin until after the university’s deadline for acquiring care. That’s OK. Again, students can remain on their parents’ plan until age 26, and they can also purchase a Marketplace plan to fill in the gap.
- Medicaid: Some students won’t have any parental assistance as they go to college. Depending on which state you live in, Medicaid could be an option. According to Healthinsurance.org, “Thirty-eight states have expanded Medicaid eligibility to cover adults with incomes of up to 138% of the federal poverty level. (Two additional states, South Dakota and North Carolina, plan to expand Medicaid in the coming months, and the Medicaid expansion income limit extends to 215% of the poverty level in the District of Columbia.)”
Deadlines
If you’re continuing on your parents’ plan, you won’t have to worry about deadlines—your plan will be in effect as you go to college. Similarly, if you adopt a college plan, that likely will take effect from the moment you hit campus.
YATI Tip: Looking to start investing in college? Check out these investing apps suitable for college students.
However, students requiring marketplace coverage (whether they’re eventually getting employer coverage but need marketplace coverage to fill the gap, or they’re relying on marketplace coverage period) do need to keep their eye on the calendar. Effectively, for every month of the year except Jan. 1, the deadline to obtain coverage is the last day of the preceding month.
“So, for instance, if you are planning on moving your coverage to the marketplace and want to start by Aug. 1, you must apply by July 31—that is in every state,” Chumbley Hogue says. For a Jan. 31 effective date in most states, the deadline may differ but will be no earlier than Dec. 15.
Costs
Specific costs are hard to nail down—pricing varies widely by geography, plan type, and every person’s health profiles and needs.
Just for example, a search for Bronze-level plans for 18-year-olds on Maryland’s state exchange showed Bronze-level plans for as little as $181 per month, though much more comprehensive plans reached nearly $400 per month.
Meanwhile, the average cost for student health insurance programs in 2022 was $226 per month for public universities and $295 per month for private universities, according to healthcare management and benefit consultancy Hodgkins Beckley & Lyon.
For parents weighing the costs of keeping their children on their own workplace healthcare plan versus individual coverage, Chumbley Hogue says the math hinges on how many children you have.
“If the student is the only child on the plan, the parents most likely will save by switching their child to a student or individual plan,” she says. “If there are multiple children on the plan and cost doesn’t vary based on the number of children, [the parent’s plan likely will be the more cost-efficient option.]”
Again, though, pricing is going to be different for everyone, so explore your options thoroughly.
Healthcare Considerations
Teenagers can take healthcare for granted—believe us, we know, we were there.
But there are several basic facets of healthcare coverage you’ll want to consider while choosing plans so you can ensure your child has everything they need:
- Prescription Medications: Plans vary widely as it pertains to what medications they cover—some will cover even brand-name versions, some will only cover generics, and in the cases of some drugs, they won’t cover it at all. That’s a huge consideration for any students with maintenance drugs.
Another consideration concerning pharmaceuticals is how interstate rules work. “Let’s say you’re on ADHD meds. You need to call your current doctor and ask how they handle it for college students,” Chumbley Hogue says. “Can they do televisits? Can they call in controlled drugs to your state to be filled? You can’t assume that if you’re out of state, things will work the same way as they do now.” - Doctors and Specialists: You’ll also discover that plans vary in which providers (doctors, specialists, etc.) they include. HMOs, PPOs, EPOs and POSes will cover most medical costs of providers they consider “in-network,” but depending on the plan, they might cover only some or even no “out-of-network” provider costs.
- Birth Control and Maternity Care: These types of care also vary by plan. Student plans offered by religious schools might limit contraceptive coverage, Healthinsurance.org says. And young adults on a parent’s plan might not have full maternity coverage.
- Travel: Chances are, your child won’t do much if any foreign travel until later in their college career. Still, remember: Most traditional healthcare plans don’t cover foreign-travel medical expenses. So if your child is going to study abroad, make sure to look at travel health insurance options.
Just like we recommend a college financial checklist (Tuition covered? Books? Meal plan? Teen checking account to keep their funds safe and acceptable?), you should have a health checklist handy, too. Is there an in-network primary-care doctor nearby? Urgent care? ER? Are meds covered?
And remember: If you want to have access to your child’s healthcare information, your child must give the doctor permission to do so—when they’re adults, your children’s doctors can’t talk to anyone about their health without their green-light first.
As always, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you again next week!
Riley & Kyle
Young & The Invested (Soon to be WealthUp)
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