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New College Graduates Need To Quickly Find Health Insurance

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By Steve Rosen McClatchy Newspapers

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 4, 2008

College seniors are counting the days until graduation - preparing for finals (hopefully), concentrating on finding a job (maybe) and filling up their social calendars (definitely).

In the midst of this final eventful stretch on campus, it's a safe bet one thing is not on their radar screens, and maybe not on yours either: what to do about health insurance once the sheepskin's in hand.

Most of the nation's college seniors, who presumably have been covered under their parents' health plans at work, will lose protection soon after graduation. Those policies typically cover dependent college students only while they are enrolled full time, generally up to age 23 or 25.

If the new grad is heading straight to a new job with good health benefits, parents can mostly relax because the insurance transition will be relatively seamless. For students heading to grad school, current coverage should remain in force as long as they are full-time students and meet the age limits.

But, if your son or daughter doesn't have anything lined up after school ends other than an indefinite vacation, then he or she will need to find insurance. Some employer-provided group policies terminate student coverage 30 days after graduation, but others are less generous. Thus, the first thing you need to know is the date your student gets booted off your policy.

Lots To Choose From

The good news: There are plenty of options, especially if the graduate is healthy. In this situation, policies have fewer limitations, but can be pricey. Coverage can begin in a matter of days after filing an application.

There are two common choices: Permanent health insurance that provides broader coverage or temporary plans that can be purchased month-to-month with limited benefits.

If you're looking for more complete coverage, then a permanent plan may be the best choice. Much like an employer-provided group plan, these individual policies offer a prescription drug benefit and cover wellness checkups. And in some cases, there's even dental coverage.

A healthy 22-year-old male nonsmoker, for example, would pay a premium of $113 a month for a Humana individual policy with a $2,500 deductible, a prescription drug benefit and dental coverage. Three other policies I checked - from BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna and Coventry - had premiums in the range of $105 to $115 a month.

For students who may be looking at a relatively short time before landing a job, temporary insurance could work. These plans generally run for up to one year and provide only catastrophic coverage for injuries or illness. The policies I checked at www.ehealthinsurance .com cost $45 to $65 a month. The downside: The plans don't pay for a doctor's office visit or prescription drugs, and policyholders could risk losing insurance protection at renewal time if they've had a major claim from an illness or accident.

My preference: Stick with the longer-term individual policy. However, as a savings strategy, consider temporary coverage, but set aside money to cover out-of-pocket doctor visits or drug costs.

Another option: If the student was enrolled in the university's health plan, check on whether it allows extensions past graduation. Many schools offer renewal options - often at a higher price - for up to a year. Also, eight states have passed legislation requiring health plans to extend coverage for a dependent for a few years beyond college graduation.

COBRA Coverage Available

Then, there's COBRA, the federally mandated program that provides employees and their families with temporary continued access to employer-sponsored health benefits for up to 36 months. This may be the only option for new graduates who have illnesses or other medical issues that could prevent them from qualifying under traditional health plans.

COBRA coverage comes at a high price. Using my previous example of a healthy, 22-year-old male, I was quoted COBRA rates ranging from $274 to $495 a month, depending on coverage options.

Before making a decision, look at consumer complaints filed against the company you're thinking of doing business with. (For this information, go to www.naic.org, the Web site for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.)

The bottom line: Look at the advantages and disadvantages of insurance options. Then run the numbers.

Whatever you decide, don't let new grads go without health insurance. A catastrophic illness or accident can be financially devastating, and if he or she develops a serious illness while uninsured, it could make it extremely expensive or impossible to get coverage in the future. Why risk it?

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