Career student gambit: messed up by insurance

[pedorrero]

It's been a while since I posted. I'm pedorrero, the "small" trustafarian and professional student. Got my MA Spanish in December, now in a graduate program and enjoying cheap student health insurance -- until this month, anyway. Got this not so cheery news today:
the annual cost for the voluntary coverage went from about $1600 to $2534: "this (~54%) increase is unavoidable since students in the voluntary plan utilized the insurance at a much higher rate than those that are mandated to have coverage [international students]." Alas, the word is out and the graying students are now paying a higher share. [moderator edit]

 

[W2R]

Hi pedorrero. Sorry to hear that your insurance has gone up by more than half this year. Do they offer a bigger deductible? Other than that, I think there is very little that you can do about this crazy rate hike.

Similar stories seem more common than not in recent years, unfortunately. Hopefully in a few years this will all get sorted out. At least, I hope so.

Congratulations on earning your M.A. in Spanish! That is quite an accomplishment and may open some doors for you, I would think.

 

[Martha]

Either price is pretty darn cheap. How is the coverage? A few school plans I looked at a several years ago had pretty low lifetime limits and lots of exclusions. Are drugs covered? What is the deductible and max out of pocket?

 

[haha]

Are drugs covered?

Only leaf and bud. Anything non-organic is self pay.

Ha

 

[growing_older]

My "family" coverage health insurance through my employer also went up about 44% this year. Company pays 100% for employees and they are absorbing a similar large increase. Costs for families are paid by employees and we are in shock. Coverage slightly decreases, deductible slightly rises and some formerly covered items are no longer covered. Either this last year was a horrible loss experience for the insurer, or they are getting some hefty increases in now, possibly anticipating changes in the market as the new health care laws kick in. Inflation statistics are supposedly flat, but insurance costs are rising like crazy.

 

[MichaelB]

Only leaf and bud. Anything non-organic is self pay.

Ha

I'm sure there is a co-pay...