Health insurance after graduation

After school has ended, most students worry about what grad school they'll attend or whether they will successfully join the workforce. Worse yet, coupled with the ending of school comes the inevitable end to many students' health insurance.

Many students are kept on their parents' health insurance until they are 21 or 22 years old. In recent years, however, many insurance policies have adjusted the age at which students will no longer receive coverage from 21 to 19 years old, oftentimes disregarding whether the person is a student or not, according Catherine Engelhardt-Ellis, the director of SBI Student Medical Insurance Programs.

Engelhardt-Ellis went on to say that not being covered by some kind of health insurance, whether it is through their parents or one's university, is a big risk to take.

"There are many risks that come with not having medical insurance," Engelhardt-Ellis said. "The most devastating though is when students go without medical treatment or medication because they don't have the money to pay for care or insurance to cover it."

Students run the risk of steeper financial obligations when uninsured than if they paid for private health insurance or were insured through programs like Healthy New York, which is offered to small companies or individuals living without health insurance.

As for those students who go without health insurance after graduation, the risk of needing medical care in the future also goes hand-in-hand with the risk of bankruptcy due to medical bills exceeding income, according to Engelhardt-Ellis.

Engelhardt-Ellis said that students who are covered through the health insurance offered by UB are covered until August 21 of the year they graduate. This gives graduated students enough time to let benefits from their new employer kick in, or to find alternative health insurance through a private company that they can afford.

UB also offers information on their Web site for students who are graduating or are in need of health insurance, through the Chickering Group called "Navigate Your Health Insurance for Dummies - a Reference for the Rest of Us!" which provides useful information for graduating students on health insurance. It gives tips on family health coverage as well, Engelhardt-Ellis said.

Mike Robinson, a junior mechanical engineering major, went without medical insurance after taking a year off from school so he could make enough money to pay for tuition. He wasn't covered by his parents' health insurance because he wasn't a student and didn't get benefits from his job.

"I've been without health insurance before because I took time off from school," Robinson said. "It definitely makes you nervous; I tried really hard not to get hurt. Now that I'm back in school though, my parents' insurance covers me again until I'm 21 or finish college."

According to Engelhardt-Ellis, most employers who cover college students until graduation stop covering them until the end of the month in which graduation occurs.

While most students don't start thinking about the loss of their health insurance coverage until a couple months before graduation, Engelhardt-Ellis warns that may be too late to make sure there are no gaps in their coverage or that they don't go without any coverage at all.

Priy Ankasharma, a sophomore philosophy and pre-med major, hasn't given any thought to what she will do for health insurance after graduation since it's still at least a couple of years away.

According to Ankasharma, she hopes to land a good job after graduating that will offer benefits, so that she will still be covered after her parent's health insurance runs out.

"Students should start making inquiries about their health insurance coverage as early as the December before they graduate," Engelhardt-Ellis said. "Winter break is the ideal time to start making phone calls and to start making sure you know the details of your coverage."

Since most plans need about 90 days before their coverage goes into affect, students who don't have a plan by the middle of March can end up with a gap or no health insurance coverage at all, according to Engelhardt-Ellis.

After graduation, George Bochenek, a senior computer sciences major, plans on getting a job that has benefits to ensure that he has sufficient health insurance coverage, since his parents' health insurance covers him until he graduates.

"I'm banking on getting a job that offers health insurance after I graduate so I won't have to worry about it," Bochenek said. "If I don't get a job right away after I graduate then I would try and get health insurance through a private provider just in case of injury. It'd be cheaper in the end to pay a little each month for coverage rather than a lump sum because I wasn't covered and got hurt."

Oregonians sign up for chance at state health insurance

The state says more than 33,000 people have signed up for a chance to get state health insurance.

The Oregon Health Plan's standard benefit has been closed to new enrollments since 2004, but the list is reopening to a limited number.

To make sure everyone gets an equal chance to apply, the state is accepting names on the reservation list for a chance to get the coverage.

In March, 3,000 names will be randomly drawn to receive applications, which must be returned within 30 days to review their eligibility.

Legislators push amendment to protect private health insurance

Senate Democrats made a big splash last summer with their universal health care reform plan.

But a pair of state lawmakers want to protect residents from government health care plans and their right to have private insurance. Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) and Sen. Ted Kanavas (R-Brookfield) are asking fellow members to co-sponsor an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution that would explicitly give people the right to enter into private contracts with health care providers and to purchase health care coverage. "The Legislature may not require any person to participate in any state-sponsored health care system or plan," the language reads.

Vukmir and Kanavas said those rights are fundamental liberties, but are under attack in Wisconsin.

"The state should not have the power or authority to compel its citizens to participate in a state-sponsored health care system," they wrote.

The amendment would need to pass both houses of the Legislature in two consecutive sessions before it could go to voters health club.

New Mexico Governor Announces Universal Beauty Health Insurance Coverage Plan

Presidential candidate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) on Thursday announced a health care proposal that aims to increase the number of insured state residents Beauty Health, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports Beauty Health.

Under the proposal Beauty Health, the state would phase in a requirement that people obtain private health coverage, enroll in a state-subsidized program or provide documentation showing they have sufficient financial resources to afford health care expenses out of pocket Beauty Health. Some residents, primarily those who are able to afford coverage, would be required to start showing proof of coverage beginning in 2010,Beauty Health such as when they renew a driver's license.

The proposal would create the New Mexico Health Care Coverage Authority Beauty Health, which would administer most of the health care mandates and oversee decisions on benefits and eligibility. Richardson's proposal also would increase the use of electronic claims and health records to improve quality of care Beauty Health, control costs and reduce errors.