Rising college health fees hit a nerve for already strapped parents

you may be in shock.

Hawley Montgomery-Downs was thrilled when her daughter, Bryn Tronco, won a scholarship to pay half of her $63,000 a year tuition at the University of Southern California. But just as she started school in August, she received a loan from USC to cover both student health insurance premiums and fees that allow students to access clinics and other services on campus. She was stunned when she received a $3,000 bill for At her home in West Virginia, she paid nothing for her daughter’s health insurance through the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, which serves lower- and middle-class families.

Montgomery Downs, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was particularly upset that USC charged her $1,050 a year in medical bills, not just health insurance premiums. “It’s nice for her to go to the Student Health Center, but I feel like I’m paying double when she buys her insurance to go to a primary care provider,” she said. .

Mandatory medical insurance and medical service fees are common in colleges as admission requirements, he said.
Stephen Beckley, Fort Collins, Colorado, University Health and Benefits Consultant. Health insurance premiums can help reduce student premiums, but parents may feel like they’re paying double. “It’s a big challenge for our field,” he said.

For parents, these hefty payments come as a surprise, and an almost-affordable education feels even more uncomfortable. You can save money by buying textbooks, but there is no way to avoid essential medical expenses.

Costs vary by school, but can often reach thousands of dollars per year. Medical advocates say parents and students need to weigh costs carefully to make sure they understand their options while meeting college requirements.

Students may request a college health insurance waiver by demonstrating that they have their own insurance or that they have a parent’s insurance that meets the criteria for a particular college. Schools usually want students’ own insurance to cover local doctors and hospitals at a nominal cost. However, student health insurance premiums are usually not waived.

USC, Private Universities,
Billed $2,273 per year
Because of its Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan. The average for public colleges is $2,712, while the average for private colleges is $3,540.
2022 survey
Beckley’s company, Hodgkins Beckley & Lyon.

Other prominent universities charge much more, such as:
$6,768 at Stanford University
at $4,163
Dartmouth College.

of
University of Montana
It charges $4,700 and most services at the school clinic are fully covered by health insurance.of
University of Colorado
We charge $3,976.

at Harvardstudents who purchase school insurance pay $4,080 annually plus $1,304 in student health insurance premiums.

The easiest solution to avoid these fees is for students to purchase parental health insurance. This is allowed until he turns 26 under the Affordable Care Act. – Network coverage where the university is located.

Otherwise, parents may want to shop among the ACA Marketplace plans to see if they can find a bargain. If your income is low enough, a student may be able to enroll in the state’s Medicaid or her CHIP plan where she attends school. However, this strategy also has limitations. Students must meet the residency requirements of the state in which they attend school, and parents cannot claim to be dependent on their tax returns. CHIP coverage also expires when the student turns 19.

Schools that bill medical bills for students and require insurance coverage say the funds will help cover services at campus clinics.

of
USC Student Health Insurance Premium
— It covers primary and preventive health services — It also helps schools pay for services that are typically not covered by insurance, such as monitoring disease outbreaks on campus.

Doctor
Sarah Van OrmanThe chief health officer of USC Student Health, she said, even with insurance, students can struggle to find private counselors who provide timely assistance, so these additions are essential. said it is.

“Student healthcare costs support public health infrastructure on campus,” said Van Orman.

Because students can access primary health care services at the student health center on campus, fewer students will seek out insurance-paid care, resulting in lower monthly premiums for the Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan, she said. Told. “They work together and don’t overlap at all,” she said Van Orman.

USC student health insurance has a $450 annual deductible within the network and a $20 co-pay for doctor’s office visits. We also offer a nationwide comprehensive service, so students are covered whether they’re at school or at home, even if it’s across the country. According to Van Orman, about half of USC students have his Aetna Student Insurance.

Other universities have different strategies. for example,
George Washington University
‘s mandatory health insurance covers health center services on campus. Unless waived, undergraduates are required to enroll in a $2,700 annual student health insurance plan unless they demonstrate that they have another insurance plan that meets the school’s standards. A health insurance premium entitles students to many free services at the Student Health Center, including medical visits, prescriptions, and routine STD testing.

College rules depend on whether students can choose insurance plans other than those offered by the school, Beckley said.

USC allows students to purchase alternative insurance through their parents’ plans or on the ACA Marketplace, as long as they meet the school’s requirements, including comprehensive health insurance in the Los Angeles area. Out-of-state Medicaid or CHIP plans do not meet the university’s criteria because California does not have a network of providers for routine care.

This was not welcome news for Montgomery Downs.

“This is not something we budgeted for,” she said of USC’s medical bills.

Montgomery Downs, a former associate professor at West Virginia University who now works as a freelance editor, said when he received USC’s health bill, he didn’t know what to do. She thought Bryn, who turned 19 this week, would be covered initially because the CHIP plan covered treatment in out-of-state emergency rooms and urgent care centers. Montgomery’s Ms. Downs also wanted to make sure her daughter had health insurance during summer vacations and vacations at her home.

Not sure which marketplace option fits her school’s rules and deadlines, she opts for the Aetna student plan offered by USC.

Looking at the Covered California marketplace options, we can see that $2,200 for the USC Aetna Student Plan is a competitive rate. His PPO plan, the lowest-priced equivalent offered by California Blue Cross, which gives Brin a nationwide network of providers, costs about $2,400 a year, factoring in government subsidies.
based on family incomePPOs provide some coverage for out-of-network doctors and hospitals.

Montgomery-Downs said she received her article on the Marketplace and will purchase Bryn’s Marketplace plan next school year. She said she wished she had known all her medical expenses when she enrolled, rather than just before her classes started.

“Even for someone with the privilege of time and some understanding of bureaucracy such as higher education and health insurance, it’s all a nightmare,” said Montgomery Downs.

Phil Galewitz is a senior correspondent for Medicaid, Medicare, long-term care, hospitals and other state health issues.
Kaiser Health Newsindependent program of
Kaiser Family Foundationwhere
This story first appearedEmail: [email protected]. Twitter: @philgalewitz.