Student Health Insurance
College’s and Universities alike understand the importance of a student being well insured. Having student health insurance either through a reputable insurance company or through the school is mandatory in order for a student to attend school. Californian college students not only have to consider their tuition and other student fees, colleges require that a student has full coverage student health insurance. There are several health insurance companies that offer affordable student health insurance plans.
Although many Universities and Colleges alike require that full-time students have full coverage, you can save money by selecting a non-school related provider. One of the benefits of using a commercial student health insurance company is that you can renew your insurance annually and at affordable rates upon graduating from college. Many students prefer to use their own insurance companies or to find a provider on their own rather than have their college pre-select a student insurance policy for them.
In order to be eligible for student health insurance, the must be the ages of 17 to 29. An undergraduate student is a person earning approximately 9 credit hours. If a student decides to accept the student health insurance other than college, they must meet a certain set of criteria and guidelines. The student is required to have a certain amount of coverage. Also, a student shouldn’t get confused with a student health insurance plan and a health discount plan. There are many health discount plans available to family’s, these are not defined as a student health insurance plan.
In order for a graduate student to be eligible, he or she must meet the graduate student guidelines of their college or university. They must be enrolled as a full-time student; part-time students with less than 9 credits are not eligible. Also, a student must attend a state-accredited university or college in the USA.
Students that are enrolled in a college or university on a quarterly basis where as the full-time undergraduate status is 6 to 8 credits per semester are eligible for student health insurance. They must write a letter to the student health insurance carrier that they are currently an active student with a ‘quarterly class schedule’. The student needs to explain that his/her school defines 6 to 8 credits per semester as a full-time student.
An example of a company that offers student health insurance would be KaiserPermanente.org. An example of an accredited college that offers comprehensive benefits would be Berkeley College in California.
Many students prefer their college or universities student health insurance plan because they offer additional services such as emotional and psychological counseling with a private psychiatrist.
In many schools in California, students are automatically charged for student health insurance. In order for a student to seek exemption from a student health insurance plan, students may request exemption from the college or universities plan. In order for a student to become exempt from a student health insurance plan, they must present their exemption form prior to registering for classes. Registration forms are often available on the college or universities website or the administration office at the school.
In addition for an exemption notice, the student must present a copy of their plan’s Summary Plan Description or Schedule of Benefits that lists the student health insurance coverage. In many colleges and universities, it is a requirement that a student health insurance plan must be comparable.
An example of a school on the West Coast that has a good student health insurance plan is Berkeley University in California. To find out information regarding health insurance laws in the state of California, log onto http://www.dhs.ca.gov/.