[C809]College Student Health Insurance

A major fallback that all financial institutions, and government agencies have had, in regards to student aid, student financing, student loan and even student jobs is the total lack of attention that has occurred with student health care. Do you realize that the largest population of uninsured Americans are people aged 18 to 24.

Today there are more than 48 million Americans that have little or no health insurance, and those numbers are expected to go up by 20% in the next 10 years. Of those people that are uninsured over 10% are college students.

Now, that I have you thinking! Lets think about why this happens? If we know that this is true, and we also know that health insurance insurance is our biggest problem, then why don't we do something to solve the problem of the largest population of uninsured?

What causes this Age Group to be Uninsured? The main reason that young college students are not covered by insurance, is because they are too old for their parents coverage, or in some cases their parents don't have insurance. Another reason is because people in this age group are going to school, and can only afford to work part time, and a part time job does not cover health insurance needs.

What are the Current Health Insurance Options for This Population?

There sure are not a lot of options out there. The student could purchase an independent insurance policy, but with independent insurance policies costing well into the thousands of dollars a year, this is not really a viable option. The other option is for parents to continue covering the young adult, and many insurance companies refuse to do that. The parents could also purchase an independent health insurance policy for their child that is if they can afford it.

Many Argue that People in that Age Group Don't Really Need Insurance

Does that truly make sense? So, if a student has an accident, it is alright if he becomes financially indebted for many years to come, because he was young. Most students would probably choose to have health insurance, if the option were available to them.

Many of these uninsured students have chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, and HIV that go untreated because of a lack of health insurance. Students need treatment with depression issues, eating disorders and even drug and alcohol abuse, and in most cases they cant get it because of a lack of health insurance.

How Can We Solve the Problem of a Lack of Health Care in Young Adults? It is a subject that is on the politicians table and should be paid attention to carefully. We could support candidates that look for a solution to the problem. It would be great if in some way we as a nation could come up with some form of universal coverage. Another option that you as a student can check into is the availability of a health insurance plan that is carried by the University or College you attend.

Many of today's colleges offer student health insurance plans for students that are enrolled in their University. In fact, this should be something you look at when you are choosing the college you will attend.

Have Your Parents Ask Their Insurance carrier if they can keep you on their plan. Some insurance carriers will let students remain on a plan until they are 22.

In conclusion, this is still somewhat of a difficult problem to deal with, and there still aren't any easy answers. But there are some solutions, if you look for them.