ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
My son is graduating from College this month (BS in BioChem). He has not locked down a job offer yet, and the 'family plan' insurance I have as a mega-corp retiree will drop his coverage at the end of May. So, I am looking into coverage for him. Hopefully the experience on this forum can help me sort out some of this:
A) COBRA - hmmm, costs $850/month (yes, in addition to what I pay for family coverage)! Looks like you can actually not pay this, and if something happens within 60 days, pay up and get retro-active coverage. I might consider that if I knew for certain there was just a 60 day gap - but I don't feel comfortable. info here: Health Insurance for College Grads - Kiplinger.com
B) That same kiplinger's article (and an earlier post on this forum that came up on a search) points here: Health Insurance, Medical Insurance, Individual Health Insurance Quotes for short term health ins quotes. These look reasonable to me. I would go for a high deductible, and probably be $70 ~ $100/month.
C) I'm trying to figure out the real diff between 'short term' plans and regular coverage. The prices seem only slightly cheaper for 'short term' ($10~$20/month less). Some short term plans say less than 6 months - so I'm wondering, if some problem came up in that time, might he have difficulty getting into an insurance plan after that, if needed?
Another thing making this all very tricky is, he really had his heart set on getting into a PharmD program (and I could extend his coverage under our family plan, as long as he is enrolled full time), but he didn't quite make the cut. So, he might actually end up taking some temp jobs that don't provide health insurance, but would look good on his application to PharmD school for the next year (and he will re-take the test which should boost his scores). At that point, he can get coverage through me (until age 25) or through the school. So, I'm trying to stay flexible.
Also - how do I find out if the insurers are any good - I read a string of horror stories on UnitedHealthCare (Golden Rule?) - but sometimes the internet link you find is just the complainers - I have no idea if it is representative or they are any better/worse than some of the others. list here: https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehealthinsurance/leadingHIcompanies.html
Sorry, this got so long..... any suggestions?
TIA - ERD50
A) COBRA - hmmm, costs $850/month (yes, in addition to what I pay for family coverage)! Looks like you can actually not pay this, and if something happens within 60 days, pay up and get retro-active coverage. I might consider that if I knew for certain there was just a 60 day gap - but I don't feel comfortable. info here: Health Insurance for College Grads - Kiplinger.com
B) That same kiplinger's article (and an earlier post on this forum that came up on a search) points here: Health Insurance, Medical Insurance, Individual Health Insurance Quotes for short term health ins quotes. These look reasonable to me. I would go for a high deductible, and probably be $70 ~ $100/month.
C) I'm trying to figure out the real diff between 'short term' plans and regular coverage. The prices seem only slightly cheaper for 'short term' ($10~$20/month less). Some short term plans say less than 6 months - so I'm wondering, if some problem came up in that time, might he have difficulty getting into an insurance plan after that, if needed?
Another thing making this all very tricky is, he really had his heart set on getting into a PharmD program (and I could extend his coverage under our family plan, as long as he is enrolled full time), but he didn't quite make the cut. So, he might actually end up taking some temp jobs that don't provide health insurance, but would look good on his application to PharmD school for the next year (and he will re-take the test which should boost his scores). At that point, he can get coverage through me (until age 25) or through the school. So, I'm trying to stay flexible.
Also - how do I find out if the insurers are any good - I read a string of horror stories on UnitedHealthCare (Golden Rule?) - but sometimes the internet link you find is just the complainers - I have no idea if it is representative or they are any better/worse than some of the others. list here: https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehealthinsurance/leadingHIcompanies.html
Sorry, this got so long..... any suggestions?
TIA - ERD50