The Graduate

No, not Benjamin Braddock & Mrs. Robinson.

Your graduate.

The one who just finished high school, or college.

Yes, that one.

Have you considered medical insurance?

Probably not.

That isn't high on the list of requests by the grad.

But here is a heads up.

Your college freshman has a few options, most of them are not good.

One option is to continue on the parents plan. Usually this is the most expensive option. Depending on how your health insurance is structured, you could be paying $300/month or so to cover your child.

There are less expensive options.

But the student health plan through college is one you probably want to bypass. Most of these plans are relatively inexpensive, but also lacking in benefits.

At least one carrier (Time) is promoting student health plans but this one also falls short.

The Time plan limits coverage to $100,000 for any single illness or accident and $1M overall. There is no coverage for outpatient Rx and pre-existing conditions are not covered for 12 months.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with any of these plans . . . until you actually need them.

Your college grad will run into the same situation, except coverage through the university is not an option.

They may also "age off" your family plan but with a COBRA option . . . usually in the $300+ range.

Your grad, high school or college, should have their own major medical plan. Not a student plan, or even an extenuation of the family plan.

Many times they can pick up exactly what they need for less than $100 per month. I have quite a few students as clients. The savings is significant and, unlike most student plans, they are not subject to arbitrary limits in coverage.