What is a good health insurance plan for a student?!
Question:
What is a good health insurance plan for a student?
I am about to turn 23, and I will not be eligible on my parent's insurance plan anymore and I am now looking for new health insurance. My school does have an insurance plan, but it is $1800 annually. This seems pretty expensive to me. I am on no prescription medications with no preexisting conditions, and I am not overweight. I live in the Overland Park, KS area. Would you suggest applying online, or could you give any recommendations for websites?
Answers:
I wouldn't suggest applying online unless you've got time to spend three or four solid days to compare the hundreds of policies that are available. You'll want to visit a local independent agent. This person knows the plans available in your area and can find the best one for your situation in less than an hour. They don't charge you anything for the service.
Be very wary of medical discount cards. They are not regulated by the Department of Insurance nor do the people that sell them need to be licensed. This means you have little recourse when you have problems with the plan. If you are tempted by the low price and claims of “save up to 80%” be aware that very few doctors actually take these cards. It does you little good if you have to drive 4 hours to find a doctor that will accept the card. One state couldn’t find any doctors in that state that took the card and only one dentist who was on probation for unlawful activities so they banned the sale of the card. See this link http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/wes... for more information. Many other states are starting to ban these cards.
Before signing up with any discount plan get a list of doctors. If they won’t give you a list consider it to be a scam. Call the doctors on the list to make sure they’re still taking the card (many don’t even know that they’re listed as a provider) and that they’re accepting new patients.