Do anyone's kids use the college health plan instead of their work-attached health plan?

[SKL]

As a small business owner, I pay a lot for health insurance, despite deductibles that leave most of my kids' costs essentially uncovered.  The university plan is currently less than $4,000 per year ($8,000 for my 2 kids), and the deductibles are lower.  I think I'd save money putting them on the campus plan (though I would need to do an analysis to confirm).

If I did that, though, would it be difficult to put them back on my plan should anything change?  I could still put them back on when a new plan year begins, right?

Does anyone do this?  Talk to me about pros and cons.

[freesia]

1 hour ago, SKL said:

As a small business owner, I pay a lot for health insurance, despite deductibles that leave most of my kids' costs essentially uncovered.  The university plan is currently less than $4,000 per year ($8,000 for my 2 kids), and the deductibles are lower.  I think I'd save money putting them on the campus plan (though I would need to do an analysis to confirm).

If I did that, though, would it be difficult to put them back on my plan should anything change?  I could still put them back on when a new plan year begins, right?

Does anyone do this?  Talk to me about pros and cons.

Could you all go on the health exchange? We’ve had a great experience with that. You might get better coverage. 
 

I haven’t used the university health plan but it sounds like a great option in your case. You should be able to add them when your plan has its open season or they loose the other insurance (graduate, take a leave of absence or a break.). We’ve spent the last year adding and dropping children several times with no problem ( I could tell you why but it would over complicate what I’m saying.)

[SKL]

18 minutes ago, freesia said:

Could you all go on the health exchange? We’ve had a great experience with that. You might get better coverage. 
 

I haven’t used the university health plan but it sounds like a great option in your case. You should be able to add them when your plan has its open season or they loose the other insurance (graduate, take a leave of absence or a break.). We’ve spent the last year adding and dropping children several times with no problem ( I could tell you why but it would over complicate what I’m saying.)

You mean ACA / Obamacare?  My family wouldn't qualify for any subsidies.

[Corraleno]

DS has been on his university's health plan (through United Healthcare) for the past 6 years, because it was cheaper (less than $300/mo), with better coverage and a much lower deductible ($200), than adding him to my private health insurance — plus once I hit 65 and went on Medicare + Medigap, a family plan was no longer an option. I'm currently paying over $400/mo for DD's private health insurance, with a $1000 deductible, and I'm really hoping her current internship turns into a F/T job, because they cover health insurance 100%.

Another significant bonus of using the university health plan was that it provides access to the campus health center at no cost, with no deductible or copays. Many of the parents at DS's university whose kids stay on their parents' health insurance still choose to pay an extra premium to give them access to the on-campus health center.

[Tap]

56 minutes ago, SKL said:

You mean ACA / Obamacare?  My family wouldn't qualify for any subsidies.

As adults, the kids would qualify based on their own incomes. Will they not qualify on their own? 

[Terabith]

Does college health insurance cover things like hospitalization?  Or summer or other breaks?  It feels risky. 

[freesia]

1 hour ago, SKL said:

You mean ACA / Obamacare?  My family wouldn't qualify for any subsidies.

Have you checked if it would be less expensive and better coverage?  It may not be, but Our coverage without subsidies would be less than what our church paid for dh’s insurance at our previous church by about $10,000 a year. 
 

Edited May 4 by freesia

[athena1277]

Have you checked to see if your current insurance even covers them where they are in college?  I know sometimes there are issues if they go to school in another state.

 I also want to say that it stinks that they have to pay to use the campus health center.  At my DD’s school it doesn’t cost anything.  Although because it’s a small school, they have somewhat limited hours.  Sometimes she still has to go to the local urgent care.

[Frances]

1 hour ago, Tap said:

As adults, the kids would qualify based on their own incomes. Will they not qualify on their own? 

Can you claim them as a dependent for tax purposes and still have them qualify on their own for health insurance subsidies? Or are the two not linked?

[freesia]

1 hour ago, athena1277 said:

Have you checked to see if your current insurance even covers them where they are in college?  I know sometimes there are issues if they go to school in another state.

 I also want to say that it stinks that they have to pay to use the campus health center.  At my DD’s school it doesn’t cost anything.  Although because it’s a small school, they have somewhat limited hours.  Sometimes she still has to go to the local urgent care.

My son’s college didn’t accept his insurance (not an exchange plan—long story.) However, it only cost $35 when he went for an appointment when he had bronchitis. So, often, it’s super cheap. 

[Carol in Cal.]

It’s been a while, but when DD was in college the college plan was not in effect over the summer breaks and also was not comprehensive medical coverage.  So we went with my employer plan.  It was pricey.

[Longtime Lurker]

48 minutes ago, Frances said:

Can you claim them as a dependent for tax purposes and still have them qualify on their own for health insurance subsidies? Or are the two not linked?

The two are linked. If you claim them as a dependent (which you would for a full-time college student), then they could not qualify for subsidies separately.

[Corraleno]

3 hours ago, Terabith said:

Does college health insurance cover things like hospitalization?  Or summer or other breaks?  It feels risky. 

The policy offered through DS's university is a pretty standard, full coverage United Healthcare policy, so it works with any provider that accepts United Healthcare, and it runs a full 12 months (August 1 to July 31), so he is covered even when he's home for the summer or over Christmas break. He's finishing his MA this summer, but he'll be staying in the university city until December even though he won't be a student, so I will need to find a policy to cover him there from August to December, and then probably switch to a different one to start in January when he will likely be moving back home for a while.

[SKL]

3 hours ago, Tap said:

As adults, the kids would qualify based on their own incomes. Will they not qualify on their own? 

They are 17.  I don't know, since they are my dependents and full-time students, when could they get ACA on their own?  I doubt they could as long as I am able to claim them as dependents.

[SKL]

I briefly looked at the coverages, and it does look like it covers pretty much everything my kids would need.

My kids will be commuters, which may make some things more complicated, but I still think we would save money (assuming commuters are allowed to buy the campus health plan).

[Corraleno]

3 hours ago, SKL said:

I briefly looked at the coverages, and it does look like it covers pretty much everything my kids would need.

My kids will be commuters, which may make some things more complicated, but I still think we would save money (assuming commuters are allowed to buy the campus health plan).

Commuting won't make any difference, plenty of students live off campus and the health insurance is available to all students. At DS's uni (which is in your state) it's mandatory for all students to have health insurance, and the university plan is automatically added to the student's bill unless the student provides proof that they have other insurance.

[freesia]

9 hours ago, SKL said:

They are 17.  I don't know, since they are my dependents and full-time students, when could they get ACA on their own?  I doubt they could as long as I am able to claim them as dependents.

Then can if your work health insurance does not cover family. I have no idea how that works in your case. 

[EKS]

My son uses the college health plan because our insurance only works in state (and he's in a different state).  Apparently, it is impossible to get individual insurance that works nationwide.  Which is ridiculous and should be illegal.

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, EKS said:

My son uses the college health plan because our insurance only works in state (and he's in a different state).  Apparently, it is impossible to get individual insurance that works nationwide.  Which is ridiculous and should be illegal.

I agree. Mark's employer has a PPO plan. So the only coverage except in emergencies that result in hospitalization is in state. Everything else that happens to you out of state is 100% out of pocket. It absolutely should be illegal. Insurance controls our lives so much.

[EKS]

11 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

It absolutely should be illegal.

Especially when it is a national corporation that has an extensive network in all states.

[Mbmiller]

I am a teacher with blue cross/ blue shield in VA. My daughter will be a freshman in FL. The benefit of keeping her on my ins. Is that it is paid through pretax dollars .(Although I could flexible spending account). Having her on the family plan seemed less than paying the $4,000+ for the year for the school’s Aetna plan. I know that my neighbor’s daughter (same employer that I have)goes to school in SC and had additional costs going to the school health center. Tests were too expensive if you didn’t have the school plan, so she’d go to an urgent care, but then school would request info to give her an excused absence. But the urgent care said they would not provide school with info due to “HIPAA.” So in her case, I think they will be switching to the school plan this year. Every school will be different so I’m going to take a risk and kee her on my plan. She can always switch later. Just remember to opt out each year if you don’t want that charge.