StephanieZ Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 A dear friend had recently posted on FB about their family struggles to afford health insurance this year due to the ACA stuff . . . Anyway, she has a million smart friends, and with a lot of brainstorming, they figured out that if her husband took a single course at their local community college ($250 fee), he was eligible to purchase insurance for their entire family, at $901 per person (2 parents, 2 teens -- 19 & 16) for 5 months. Her husband is a recent cancer survivor (a VERY expensive cancer . . . $10,000 per dose drug was part of his regimen) . . . and so they're very experienced with insurance and know just how critical it is, but the ACA cost was out of control . . . and she reports that this is the best coverage they've had in years. And cheaper than the (terrible) marketplace plans available in their state. Anyway, I thought this was a really nifty trick. Hope this idea helps someone. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacbeaumont Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 $901 per person? How much were they paying before. Yikes! What a smart idea though! Sent from my U9200 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Your friend is major lucky. Our ccs don't offer insurance, and our universities require 6 or 9 undergrad hours or 1-3 grad hours and do not offer coverage for family. It's @$4000 for 9 months of coverage at most schools. Also, some schools only offer coverage at their health centers, while some allow referrals to off-site specialists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 $901 per person? How much were they paying before. Yikes! What a smart idea though! Sent from my U9200 using Tapatalk $901 per person for FIVE months. :) So about $180 per month per person for high quality insurance. That's a bargain. It's half what we're paying in 2017 for our employer sponsored plan, and it's a third of what we'd have paid with the ACA Individual Exchange if we hadn't set up the small group plan. If you only have adults to insure (like if your kids can get CHIP), it's an even better deal, as for us, there is a big differential between adults and kids . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 Your friend is major lucky. Our ccs don't offer insurance, and our universities require 6 or 9 undergrad hours or 1-3 grad hours and do not offer coverage for family. It's @$4000 for 9 months of coverage at most schools. Also, some schools only offer coverage at their health centers, while some allow referrals to off-site specialists. They are getting their coverage through Community College of Austin, TX, FWIW. I'm sure this does vary a lot from school to school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 Check this out: http://www.austincc.edu/offices/environmental-health-safety-and-insurance/student-insurance https://austincc.myahpcare.com/benefits "Students must meet enrollment requirements at the time they enroll. Enrollment in 3 credit hours classroom or distance learning is required." According to the info on the website, the plan is a PLATINUM plan . . . the details look really amazing. It's $901 for 5 months of coverage. ACA compliant . . . I wonder if anyone could do this from another state?? The coverage/network looks pretty comprehensive, not a HMO sort of thing . . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) I have looked into this for my area. The community college doesn't seem to offer plans. The state u looks to have a decent plan, but I haven't been able to figure out if family members of students can enroll. Insurance through the state u is $2200 per year, with a $500 deductible. It does cover off-campus doctors, too. In contrast, our policy has a sticker price of $1194 per month (2 adults, 2 kids) with a $6400 individual deductible. If I could get family overage at the state u rate, I could go half time and get us all a much lower deductible than the price we are paying now for insurance alone. Edited December 16, 2016 by HoppyTheToad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 $901 per person for FIVE months. :) So about $180 per month per person for high quality insurance. That's a bargain. It's half what we're paying in 2017 for our employer sponsored plan, and it's a third of what we'd have paid with the ACA Individual Exchange if we hadn't set up the small group plan. If you only have adults to insure (like if your kids can get CHIP), it's an even better deal, as for us, there is a big differential between adults and kids . . . OK, that's better, I was thinking $900 per month per person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 I take a course and the student ID and bus pass have really come in handy! After that and a small tax break my course practically pays for itself. I might just keep doing this forever. LOL 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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