Losing Coverage Under Parent’s Health Plan
I am a student and will go off of my parents health insurance at the end of this year. I have a preexisting condition (ulcerative colitis) and have not been able to find an insurance company that will accept me. Can you point me in the right direction of where to look? Or what my options are.
We can sure try. We need to ask a few questions that will help us better understand your situation: 1) In which state do you reside? And, is that the same state where your parent’s health plan is issued? 2) Is your parent’s policy an individual health plan, or a group health plan through an employer? 3) How long have you been covered under that plan? And 4) Does your college offer a student health plan? If so, have you checked with them on their eligibility requirements?
I actually live in Missouri right now. I am from Kansas and that is where my parents live. Their plan is through my dad’s work, which he has retired from. I have been covered through his work all of my life (24 years). My school is a private school and they do not offer a health insurance program through them.
Comment by UC student — November 1, 2006 @ 10:32 am
Since you are currently covered under a group health plan, you should have COBRA rights that will guarantee you coverage. Under federal COBRA regulations, a dependent child that ceases to qualify as a dependent is eligible to remain on COBRA for 36 months. This is assuming that the group plan meets federal COBRA regulations, which apply to companies that have more than 20 employees. The way this would work is you can stay on the group plan for 36 months, but you will need to pay the premium associated with just your portion of the health plan. The insurance company, or the HR department of your father’s employer, should be able to calculate this amount for you.
So, you need to contact your current insurance company and confirm all of this with them. If your group plan is an HMO it is possible, since you are residing in a state other than where the plan is written, that you may not be able to take COBRA because your address would be outside of the service area. Unless, you keep your parent’s address in Kansas. But, an HMO plan written in Kansas will not provide you much benefit in Missouri and may be limited to emergency medical treatment only.
If, for some reason, you are not eligible for COBRA, reply to us with the reasons why and we can perhaps advise you further.
Comment by Site Advisor — November 1, 2006 @ 11:11 am
I am currently enrolled in an art program at my university. They have a different schedule where they use quarters instead of semesters, so students can go all year round and graduate a year faster if they keep up. I have almost decided that I do not want to go there anymore, the grades show their thing too! Anyway, I want to enroll in this community college in the fall and just take the basic courses for much less than at my art school.
The problem I have is that if I do drop out, I am going to be without health insurance as I will loose my medical insurance plan that I get from my parents. I need it to go see doctors regularly and if I need medicine and so on.
What do I do? Is there any way I can show the insurance company that I will be a student again come fall and keep my insurance?
Comment by Josh — June 19, 2009 @ 11:02 am
My daughter attends a private university in Tennessee, but just turned 25 on Nov 20th. Per my employer provided health insurance, she will no longer be allowed under my ppo plan after Nov 30th. She is still enrolled full time and will not be through until the end of May 2010. She has had some problems a few months ago with an ulcer and has recovered from that, but still needs coverage. Is there any insurance that she can get, that will not make her wait since she had this problem? She will be living in Tennessee even after she is done in May 2010.
Comment by Worried_Parent — November 30, 2009 @ 12:01 pm