As your college student gets ready to return to campus, there is a long checklist of things they need to go through to make sure everything they need is packed inside the family’s minivan.
Clothes? Check.
Shoes? Check.
Toiletries? Check.
The laptop? Check.
Insurance coverage? What?
That’s right. What should be added to the long list of things that need to go off to college with your child is the family’s health insurance policy.
Parents should work with their insurance agent to make sure their college-aged children are covered when they’re miles away from home.
That’s especially true if the policy is for an HMO.
Tracy Watts, a partner with Mercer Health & Benefits LLC, a health insurance consulting firm in Washington, D.C., says things could get dicey for students whose family has an HMO and they need to receive care from an out-of-network provider.
“All HMOs have a provision for emergency care, which is fine if you happen to be traveling, but for students living away from home, it’s a bit of a gray area,” says Watts. “Parents need to know that and students need to know that.”
While most college campuses have health clinics and offer health insurance to students who might not have coverage, Watts says that coverage isn’t as comprehensive as a family policy and it might cost a whole lot more.
“It simply isn’t the same as an HMO,” says Watts.
Scot Roskelley, a spokesman for the Mid-America Region of Aetna, says it’s important for families to be aware of the need for insurance coverage for their college-age students.
“If you belong to an HMO, there are no sweeping answers on whether students will be covered when they leave home for school. It varies from policy to policy and company to company,” says Roskelley.
For sure, says Roskelley, routine health care won’t be covered, but if there is an emergency injury or illness, the HMO will more than likely take care of the immediate needs.
“A better option is to sign up for a PPO. That doesn’t have as many geographic restrictions,” says Roskelley. And with a PPO, it’s possible that families could buy a supplemental policy through the school that would cover what the PPO did not.
“Taking care of things through the health center is an option, but the availability and quality of care depends on the school,” says Roskelley. “Do you want to take that risk?”
