Consider Individual Health Coverage For Your Student

One thing about health care coverage: It never fails to leave you challenged and confused.The latest evidence is that many colleges and universities are phasing out or scaling back their school-sponsored medical plans sold to students. Blame it mostly on escalating costs associated with the higher coverage requirements of health care reform.These school-endorsed plans had offered low-cost but very basic medical coverage to students who for the most part did not have their parents’ employer-provided group insurance as a coverage option.
June 23, 2012
post-thumb

One thing about health care coverage: It never fails to leave you challenged and confused.

The latest evidence is that many colleges and universities are phasing out or scaling back their school-sponsored medical plans sold to students. Blame it mostly on escalating costs associated with the higher coverage requirements of health care reform.

These school-endorsed plans had offered low-cost but very basic medical coverage to students who for the most part did not have their parents’ employer-provided group insurance as a coverage option.

To complicate things even further, it’s unlikely that the premiums for school-sponsored health coverage will swing quickly in the other direction if the Supreme Court throws out some or all of the Affordable Care Act. That’s because policy contracts with schools are already locked in for the upcoming year.

If you’re in need of a fallback plan before sending your son or daughter off to college, start with individual insurance policies.

To read the full article in The Kansas City Star, please click here.

Related Posts

post-thumb

Parents: How Prospective Colleges Communicate with Parents

5 Tips for Improved Communication with Colleges
post-thumb

Some College Honor Societies are More Credible than Others. Here’s How to Judge.

We've all seen the bumper stickers. "My child is honor student at fill-in-the-blank middle school."Some of you may have even had the chance to slap one of those bumper stickers on your own car fender.When it comes to honors in high school and college, however, the bumper stickers get fewer and the standards get stricter.College Parents of America thought you would find it useful to learn more about college honor societies and how you – and your child – can judge their credibility.
post-thumb

In favor of a “College Buyers’ Guide” by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  pic by flickr user nesster (cc license) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues its push for sunshine/transparency for financial organizations’ relationships with institutions of higher education. In a blog post last week, the CFPB discussed how many of these arrangements work:1. Direct payments for using school logos: We found several agreements where a financial institution offers a licensing fee in order to use a school’s logo to market its financial products. (In 2008, Congress restricted this practice for student loans, but not for other financial products.) For example, we found an agreement which provides $25 million to a university for use of the school’s logo, among other benefits.2. Bonuses for recruiting students: Other agreements provide bonus payments based on whether students sign up for a financial institution’s student checking account marketed on campus. For example, one agreement paid a university an upfront payment of $400,000 and an additional bonus of upwards of $200,000 each year if enough new students signed up for the accounts.3. Discounted prices in exchange for marketing access: Some colleges receive discounted – or even completely free – services in exchange for allowing a provider to market financial products to students. For example, we found many agreements where a financial institution charges a university to transfer loan and scholarship funds to students.However, some school officials have told us that these charges may be heavily discounted, since these agreements provide the financial institution with unique access to market to students receiving financial aid. This gives the financial institution a foot in the door to generate significant revenue in fees from students, making it worthwhile to provide discounted services to schools.  The CFPB went on to praise the voluntary disclosure of such agreements as a commitment to transparency and informed consumer choice. College Parents of America praises these efforts as commonsense, consumer-friendly steps that these institutions can take. Thankfully, college financial transparency has increased significantly since the days of on-campus Frisbees, T-shirts and candy in exchange for college credit card applications.   Transparency in college isn’t yet perfect, however.  
post-thumb

5 Main Causes of Stress For College Students

Reducing Stress in College