Know Your Rights: Health Insurance
Published April 10, 2007
By Nate Bradbury
“Election 2008” is sure to bring many surprises and long, hard-fought battles over significant issues facing the American people.
Social security, immigration, the war in Iraq, and health care reform are all hot-button issues that – if properly mixed and balanced – will be one candidate’s recipe for success.
It is difficult as a college student in Burlington to feel the pressing need for a modified social security system or for immigration reform – they just don’t hit that close to home.
However, as a college student who is peeking around the corner past the relative safety of University health care and into the complicated and expensive realm of real-world health insurance costs, I have some serious concerns.
Do I really need health insurance?
If my employer does not provide health insurance, can I afford to foot the bill? How much is a health care plan, really? In short, what the fuck is going on?
Each year the United States Census Bureau provides data showing an increasing number of uninsured Americans (nearly 47 million people were uninsured in 2005). Approximately15% of Americans goes without health insurance.
There are complicated issues behind the relatively high level of uninsured Americans, but two factors are largely responsible: the high cost of health insurance/health care and a lack of awareness about existing government health insurance programs.
Health insurance rates and the levels of coverage provided will vary widely from state to state. Some states, such as Massachusetts and California, are breaking new grounds with new health care reform plans, while others still have prohibitive regulations. For example, if you were to pack up and head to Idaho, Minnesota, or Kentucky you would probably find a wide variety of health care plans to choose from. However, if you were to stay in the Northeast and settle down in New Jersey, New York, or Maine you would find that your choices are quite limited and very pricey.
As a soon to be ex-collegiate, you can take several steps to overcome the obstacle presented by finding a health care plan.
1. Look into the existing state- and federal-level insurance programs that you may qualify for – CAHI, the National Academy for State Health Policy, and state-level health department websites all provide the type of information that you will need.
2. Find out if you qualify for “individual tax credits” that can offer upwards of $1,500 in the form of a federal tax credit.
3. Check out the “limited benefit plan.” This type of plan covers catastrophic injury and prolonged hospital stays and can provide legitimate savings to younger, healthier sections of our country (i.e. recent college grads).
4. Another option would be “short-term medical insurance,” specifically, if you are in the process of finding a job or are expecting a short period of downtime after college (under six months). These plans are noticeably cheaper than a comprehensive coverage plan and provide coverage for unpredictable events.
5. Lastly, check and see if you live in a state that subsidizes small-employer health care costs or directly subsidizes uninsured individuals.
It is worth the effort to shop around and investigate the state and federal programs that you may qualify for. Census data indicate that nearly 10 million Americans qualify for at least one government-funded health insurance program and are still uninsured.
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