Is health insurance required?

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Just curious if most nursing programs required you to carry health insurance and if so how some of you have handled it. I guess this is targeted more for the older non-traditional student that doesn't have the option to be covered under a parents policy. This is kind of worrying me because since I'm currently the sole provider, and had planned on going to school full-time when I get accepted into a program, the additional costs of health coverage seem a bit daunting. I doubt I'll be able to afford full coverage for the family (wife and 2 kids). How have some of you dealt with this situation?

Originally posted by hobbes

I doubt I'll be able to afford full coverage for the family (wife and 2 kids). How have some of you dealt with this situation?

I haven't dealt with the issue yet, since I'm not into nursing school - but I do believe that many schools will offer student coverage (doubt they offer family) for reduced rates. There are also companies out there that cater to students and will provide lower premiums based on academic status. Perhaps just get a major medical policy with a high deductible?

It's something that concerns me a bit as well - I hate to think of leaving my job and losing my health insurance on my children.. hopefully by that time my husband will have a better job where he's offered affordable benefits.

Does your wife work or does she plan to while you are in school?

Specializes in CICu, ICU, med-surg.

Health insurance is not required for my program but it is "highly recommended." I plan on purchasing the policy that is offered through the university. Check with your school and see if they have a student policy. These policies tend to be a bit cheaper and you can also get coverage for the rest of your family.

Good luck with everything!

My program requires it.

Luckily ill still be working Full time and doing clinicals at night so ill be covered.

my program does require students to carry their own health insurance "just in case". This was a major worry for me as well because neither my husband or myself had any type of insurance. I did a web search and found a company called Fortis Health that has a program for college students. The only requirement is that you have to be enrolled in school at least 9 hours and be under the age of 63 I think. It doesn't cover well visits, dependents, or prescriptions, but it will cover you if you get sick and need to go to the doctor, or if you're running down the hall of a hospital for a code and you fall and bust your right tib-fib. I went ahead and signed up for it since I rarely get sick, if memory serves me correctly, it was about $700 for a year with a $250 deductable. Another "catch" if you will, is that you have to pay the premiums either annually or biannually, however, as long as you keep paying your premiums, you can stayed covered, even if you graduate or drop out of school. The address is http://www.fortishealth.com and I think the program is called student select or something like that.

Another option for anyone shopping for health insurance would be to go to http://www.ehealthinsurance.com This website searches and compares policies in your state. This is actually where I found out about the Fortis Health Insurance.

A

Originally posted by manna

Does your wife work or does she plan to while you are in school?

Well, she's a stay-at-home mom right now and has been frustrated in her attempts to find work (much less anything that provides benefits). I'm assuming that when I start fulltime that she will not be working, although it would be a pleasant surprise if she was.

Originally posted by angelac1978

my program does require students to carry their own health insurance "just in case". This was a major worry for me as well because neither my husband or myself had any type of insurance. I did a web search and found a company called Fortis Health that has a program for college students. The only requirement is that you have to be enrolled in school at least 9 hours and be under the age of 63 I think. It doesn't cover well visits, dependents, or prescriptions, but it will cover you if you get sick and need to go to the doctor, or if you're running down the hall of a hospital for a code and you fall and bust your right tib-fib. I went ahead and signed up for it since I rarely get sick, if memory serves me correctly, it was about $700 for a year with a $250 deductable. Another "catch" if you will, is that you have to pay the premiums either annually or biannually, however, as long as you keep paying your premiums, you can stayed covered, even if you graduate or drop out of school. The address is http://www.fortishealth.com and I think the program is called student select or something like that.

Another option for anyone shopping for health insurance would be to go to http://www.ehealthinsurance.com This website searches and compares policies in your state. This is actually where I found out about the Fortis Health Insurance.

A

Hey thanks!! This is just the sort of info I was looking for.

no problem! glad I could help. Noticed that you live in Atlanta. My hubby is from Jonesboro, and we lived in Douglasville for a year. LOVED it down there, I hope we can move back when we are done with school!

A

Our program (to my knowledge) does not require health insurance. We DO have to have , but nothing has been said about health insurance.

Currently my husband, children, and self are on Medi-Cal (that's the state's medicaid plan), but I don't think that will last much longer for dh and myself. He is not offered insurance at work, either, and of course I am not currently employed. Even if I was, it wouldn't be full time, so I wouldn't be able to qualify for benefits.

We have a student health center at school that everyone pays a semester fee for when registering. I know they do A LOT of things there, and they have discounted pharmacueticals (did I spell that right?) available to students. Hopefully if it ever came down to it they would have any services that may be needed!;)

health insurance in a requirment at my school, but the school offers a plan for 25 a month.

Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

I know the university (BSN program) here requires health insurance but to my knowledge the school I am at now (ADN program) only requires .

My husband gets his insurance for free because he works for the university and my children are covered as well, but I am not. That was actually one of the reasons I have decided to get my ADN before my BSN becaue of the health insurance requirements at the BSN program.

Good question, nice to see I am not alone in this.

For those with kids who are not covered check into your state insurance programs- most will cover children under 18 and pregnant women for free, depending on your income but it is usually higher than what you might think. You can call your local Department of Human Services and find out more. It worries me when I hear children are not being covered when in most cases they can be, and for free.

Marilyn

I'm at a University and healt insurance is MANDATORY. We couldn't even register without showing proof of or siging up for the school insurance. I was worried about it too as it cost 480 per semester at my school. I tried fortis and all the others they weren't really that great. They take your age into consideration (and I'm old...LOL) So the school was best for me. Look to see if your school offers some type of insurance. Luckily for me my son got qualified for the State insurance.

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