Sunday, December 28, 2008

Texas Health Insurance For Students

By Jordan FeRoss

As most college students will tell you, health insurance in Texas can be difficult to get these days. Far too many young people go without health insurance in Texas because they believe they are young and healthy and all too offer suffer from the delusion that they are invincible. The truth is that none of us ever know what the future holds and disease or an accident can strike at any time leaving you with a huge debt or, even worse, unable to get the medical help they need.

Here are some things that college students can do to get health insurance in Texas that is affordable:

Your parents are a great resource for getting the insurance you need because you can legally remain covered by their health insurance in Texas until you are 25 years old. And students with mental or physical disabilities can remain on their parents insurance indefinitely. Because there are no out-of-pocket expenses for you, this a great route to take to get covered by health insurance in Texas. The only things you must do to continue coverage under your parents' plan is maintain your status as a full-time student and met the age eligibility. If you are leaving your home state to attend school, you will want to review the state and local laws where your school is located, especially if you will need to find in-network doctors for your care.

If you are still on your parents' insurance, as a student, you are allowed to stay on until you turn twenty five. The exception to that is if you are physically and mentally challenged. It's better to have coverage as a dependent because students are able to save money by not having to come out of their pocket to pay for health insurance coverage in Texas. For college students that go to school away from their residence will need to know about stipulations that may apply to them. This is especially important if the health insurance coverage is through an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization).

If your parents' health insurance in Texas won't work for you in the geographic area of your school, you can still choose an HMO with regional coverage to make sure you will get to see in-network doctors. A regional HMO may mean going a bit out of your way to see a doctor who participates in the plan. Some HMO companies will make exceptions for college students and allow them to visit doctors outside their network while they are students but you will need to check if the HMO you are considering will do this to avoid costly out-of-pocket expenses for leaving the network. Even if the HMO lets you leave your network, you may still be penalized with extra fees so read everything carefully.

Another affordable place for students to look for insurance coverage in Texas is through their college or university. Most schools offer health plans to their students and at many schools you must be fully covered by health insurance to attend, especially if you are studying abroad. And, because most colleges and universities work with private insurers, the quality of the care does not decrease just because your plan is through school.

For health insurance in Texas, there are different kinds of health insurance policies available for students. The best choice for them would be to have a single medical policy that goes across the board. If you are a student, you won't need a lot of options. However, if some of the options you need are not there, please ask the health insurance carrier.

For most students, the best best for protection against serious illness or injury is being added (or remaining) on your parents' health insurance in Texas.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment