Health insurance is a must-have these days. Most schools in the United States require that their students have health insurance. Surveys show that almost 30% of US students don't have health insurance and ask their parents for money when they need it. Most likely, these students will have to stop going to school because they need to work to pay for their healthcare costs.
Healthcare insurance is not cheap, so it can be hard for many students to pay for it. But it's good for a student to have this kind of health insurance.
Even though there are a lot of plans for student health insurance, they can be broken down into three main types: the plan your parents have, the plan your college has, and the commercial plan. Each of the plans that were mentioned has its own pros and cons.
After a certain age, a college student may not be covered by their parents' health insurance plan. If that's the case, you'll need to get extra coverage through COBRA, which might not be cheaper than getting a different plan. Also, the student may need to have at least "x" number of college credit hours before he or she can get the coverage.
The college plan can offer coverage through HMO or PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). These are plans for a group, and they are usually less expensive than individual health plans. But the coverage may not be as good as it could be. For more complete coverage, it would be best to look into other options. When there is a hospital "on campus," the college plan is better. Most college plans cover all costs related to accidents or health care, as long as the student stays enrolled at the college for a certain amount of time.
Commercial health insurance is sold by a lot of companies. The terms can be very different, so it would be important to buy a plan that has the features that you want. The best thing to do would be to make a list of the important features, then get the details for different plans from different companies and compare them to figure out which plan is the best.
Temporary student health insurance is part of the commercial health plan. It is for students who are living away from home. It can be used for thirty days, six months, or a whole year. Under the temporary plan, if the student gets an Indemnity Plan, he can choose any doctor or hospital he wants. Another option is the Managed Care Plan, which gives the person a choice of doctors and hospitals in the plan's network. The premiums for the Managed Care Plan are less than those for the Indemnity Plan.
Most states in the US have laws that require foreign students to have health insurance and set a minimum amount that should be available in case of an emergency evacuation, medical treatment, or return of the body. The cost of health insurance for an international student is about $600 to $700 per year.
It is very important for students to have health insurance in case of an emergency that needs medical care. It is a requirement for enrollment in most schools in the United States. Many states have laws that require foreign students to have health insurance.
