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Florida Health Insurance for Students

December 02, 2008

Graduates of Florida A&M and Florida State University have received numerous speeches and congratulatory gifts, but one real-world need many of them have and did not receive as a gift is health insurance. With a myriad of short-term insurance policies available, young adults are now stuck between their diploma and a hard place.

“Many of them do not know there is an affordable insurance solution for them because they never had to buy health insurance,” said Ellen Laden, public-relations director for Golden Rule Insurance Co. “Basically, each year hundreds of thousands of students join America’s uninsured.”

According to research compiled by the Commonwealth Fund, 38 percent of college graduates go through some uninsured period in their first year after graduation. Golden Rule Insurance is an Indianapolis-based individual insurer affiliate of UnitedHealthCare. For more than 20 years it primarily has provided short-term insurance for graduates and adults going through a transition from one insurer to another.

www.EasyToInsureME.com offers short-term insurance policies for terms as brief as 30 days. Its owner, Chad Levin, started writing the policies more than 5 years ago because of the recent increase in college population.

Last month, Latoya Harris graduated from FSU with a degree in English. Unlike her classmates, Harris was without health insurance before graduation. When she turned 22 in January 2006, her parents’ insurer, Kaiser Permanente, dropped her, even though she could show identification proving she was a full-time student.

“Thankfully, I haven’t had any major medical emergencies, so I haven’t had to worry about paying a huge amount of money,” Harris said. “Clearly, it can happen to anyone, so it’s just been a blessing that it hasn’t occurred.”

A representative from Kaiser Permanente said it is up to an individual employer when dependents are dropped from coverage, even if they are full-time students when their policy expires.

To get by, Harris said she visited the clinic at FSU where she only had to pay for prescriptions. She said it can be scary to graduate and not have health insurance and that “it kind of kicked in for me: ‘Hmm. I need to find a job and get health insurance.“

Harris has found a position in Clearwater and does not have a probationary period before her health insurance begins. She may be one of the fortunate graduates. According to a 2006 article, “Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help” (Commonwealth Fund), adults between 19 and 29 are the fastest-growing demographic without health insurance. In 2004, the most recent year available, 13.7 million adults in that age group lacked health insurance, which is 2.5 million more than was reported in 2000. The Commonwealth Fund will release statistics this month updating the figures.

“Because most students are under their parents’ insurance, they don’t take the time to research it,” Harris said. She added it’s “definitely wise” for students to educate themselves.

Kylan Chavious is one who educated himself. Before he graduated from FAMU with a degree in computer information systems and taking a position at Lockheed Martin, he researched the possibility of a short-term policy. He does not have to worry about a lapse in health insurance because his parents’ policy with WellPath, a subsidiary of Duke Select, covers him until he begins at Lockheed in late June.

“It’s like the saying ‘better safe than sorry,” Chavious said. “That could not only be for your sake, but that could be for future children of yours or your spouse.”

Do business with a well-known company that has an extensive network both in Florida and across the country. (Network discounts can make health care much more affordable because rates are negotiated for the consumer.)

Find a plan that offers a wide range of deductibles (the higher the deductible, the lower the cost) and choice of months of coverage.

Determine which payment options (one time, monthly?) best fit your budget.

Make certain that you understand the plan and that the application process is a simple, quick one.

Make certain that you can drop the plan at any time without penalty if you become eligible for coverage by an employer.

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Let's say there's a family, and there's three different prescriptions for different medications within the family. Let's say the Dad is paying for health insurance. Do you just pay for health insurance once, when you register for it? Do you pay $20 monthly? Does the price you pay go up when you add more medications? I'm confused.