Health Insurance for Nursing students

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2007

i don't know what your financial situation is, but most people are not aware that medicaid has a classification it refers to as the medically needy class. this is a class of people who have lost their employer health insurance, are incurring medical costs and have a low-income that is not low enough to qualify for welfare. with this kind of assistance for the medically needy, a person could receive medicaid medical assistance. it is also known as share of cost or spend down in some states. however, not all states have this component in its state general assistance program. the only way you can find out if your state does this is to go to your state medicaid website to see if this assistance is available or just go directly to your local public service welfare office or human services agency and apply for public assistance benefits. the workers in these offices will be able to tell you if you qualify as being medically needy. usually, with this kind of assistance, you don't apply until you begin to incur medical bills that you know you are going to have difficulty paying. if your state has share of cost, they will determine how much you are able to pay, a spend down amount, but you have to apply to get this consideration. i don't think you can do anything for coverage until you have actual bills that have to be paid. to be sure about this, investigate your state medicaid rules.

you also need to know that many providers (doctors and hospitals) do make allowances for people who do not have enough money to pay their bills. but, you have to tell them up front that you are financially strapped and ask for some kind of payment arrangements. if you aren't honest about this, they will treat your account for any services they provide for you like any other creditor when you don't pay. doctors will also sometimes give a professional discount to nurses and nursing students if you ask. if you have car insurance and are in a car accident, your car insurance will cover your medical costs if you have this coverage and no other medical insurance. you should also investigate the student health service of your school. some provide medical services for students at very low cost or will refer you to physicians who are willing to give students lower rates for care.

zenurse · Jun 13, 2007

I don't have insurance and I'm staring nursing school in September. I was in a panic because I have a limited income right now, but I found out my school requires students who carry 12 credits or more to have insurance--and they offer coverage that is very affordable--probably crappy, but I'm not going to complain!

Maybe your school offers the same?

caliotter3 · Jun 13, 2007

As I recall my nursing school required us to have health insurance. The school offered low cost health insurance as well as the required malpractice insurance. That's the first place I would ask.