katemary63 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) I posted this on one of the "high college tuition" threads, but then decided to start a new one. :D I have a question. For those of you who expect your kids to work in order to save for college, or take semesters off here and there till they can save the cash for tuition, how do they plan to pay for medical expenses? My husband and I have felt compelled to help our son STAY in school because if he didn't, he would be ineligible for DH's health insurance. If he took a semester off, and worked to save tuition, he would have to pay a hefty premium for his own insurance. It would be difficult to save much if he was paying ANY of his other expenses. In addition, the longer he takes to graduate, the longer he lives at home and the longer WE are responsible for him. If he had to support himself, paying his own bills, there would be no saving anything and it would be years before he could return to college. We live in AR. You CAN'T get a job around here that earns enough money to even pay your bills, let alone "save for college" without a degree, especially now. I have no idea what that's like in other areas. Our son had a plan to pay for college. He joined the Marine Reserves. He would have gone for free with the military. Soon after finishing his training and starting his first semester at school, he experience serious health problems that forced him to take a medical discharge. ( he is fine now) So now we have a choice. Make him work and save for who knows how long or use a combination of loans for him and we cover the rest. He is living at home now (moved back because of the economy) and we support him except his gas and incidentals. He is a full time student and works 20 hours a week as a cook at Colton's. (full time in the summer hopefully) He is 22 years old and attends a very inexpensive (comparatively speaking) state school 15 minutes away. How would you all handle this situation? We are struggling to help him because of the change in our finances due to the economy. It is a big sacrifice. I don't mind that at all, personally. But I also don't see any other way. I would even go back to work to help pay for it, but I have a DD8 at home. Our goal is to see him through to graduation and then into his first professional job with his own health insurance. ( like we did his sister ) But I am curious how others see it. Especially those who think kids should work and save for college instead of taking out loans. DS's freinds we know that ARE working to save for school simply go without health insurance. We would never do that. (ps. we ALSO had a plan to help him pay for college. We sent his sister to school using just the interest off of our retirement investments. Haha, THAT is no longer an option!) Edited March 11, 2009 by katemary63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyatHome Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I called an insurance "broker" friend (not sure if that is the proper term) and he found a temporary plan (up to 6 mos. with renewal possible if there were no claims) for about $60 a month. That wasn't too bad. It was only major medical, but that was all we were really concerned about at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_claire Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I agree that they should get school out of the way. Taking a semester off is more likely to make them quit school. Kids like having money in their pocket. Its hard to go back to being a poor student. And health coverage is very important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Of supporting him as a son and as a person. If you are allowing him to live at home and covering as many expenses as you can, and if he's working to cover some, and if it's still not enough, I think taking out loans for an inexpensive local college is your best option for him if he's going into a line of work where he expects to pay them back. Maybe if your economic situation improves, you can eventually HELP him pay those loans back. But if not, you have done the best you could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 A number of schools have a student work program that might be worth checking out. Is he taking advantage of school grants? Did the medical discharge allow him any continued military benefits? :grouphug: I admire you helping him now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Look into the school insurance policy and see if it would cover your son's needs. I bought the insurance offered by my university when I was off my father's policy after age 25 and it was adequate for the time until I was employed. The cost is very affordable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 Look into the school insurance policy and see if it would cover your son's needs. I bought the insurance offered by my university when I was off my father's policy after age 25 and it was adequate for the time until I was employed. The cost is very affordable. I'm talking about insurance for when he is NOT a student and working to save money for tuition. If he is a student, he has my DH's health insurance. Thanks anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 At that age, if he's healthy, he should be able to get health insurance for around $60/month. Try ehealthinsurance.com and they will help you compare. Ds has separate insurance and while it includes only two office visits a year ($25 co-pay), the deductible is reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Oh, I misunderstood. Look into short-term insurance. I had that in between jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.