Is Obamacare really killing university health plans?

[jdfreefly 1]

I've been seeing a lot of noise about this in the dark libertarian corners I frequent:

http://reason.com/blog/2012/06/04/sorry-students-colleges-cease-offering-s

Any truth to this stuff, or are these guys just telling the libertarian/anti-obama side of things?

Methane Freefly - got stink?

[kelpdiver 2]

It wouldn't be a surprising result. With the provision that children can stay on their parent's plan until age 26, more students will already have coverage, so the number left may not be sufficient to allow for a university plan to continue.

[GeorgiaDon 379]

The University where I teach is not ending its student health insurance. All undergraduate and graduate students are required to enroll unless they can show they are already covered under another plan. The premiums are less than $100/month, and the plan covers doctor visits/hospitalizations/pregnancy/mental health etc up to $100,000, with a $300 deductible and 20% copay up to a maximum of $4500 out of pocket.

Frankly, a plan that is limited to a maximum of $10,000 in benefits is essentially worthless. This would barely begin to cover a one day hospitalization, or an ambulance ride. Such plans are basically scams, deceiving people into thinking they are insured when they are really not. For about the same money, people of college age can purchase private insurance with much better coverage. If this is the best these colleges can do for their students, I suspect someone is getting a kickback.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[Southern_Man 0]

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The premiums are less than $100/month, and the plan covers doctor visits/hospitalizations/pregnancy/mental health etc up to $100,000, with a $300 deductible and 20% copay up to a maximum of $4500 out of pocket.

Frankly, a plan that is limited to a maximum of $10,000 in benefits is essentially worthless. This would barely begin to cover a one day hospitalization, or an ambulance ride. Such plans are basically scams, deceiving people into thinking they are insured when they are really not.

Don

I agree that the 10000 is basically not worthwhile. I thought under Obamacare they were doing away with or substantially raising the payouts, so that even your university is going to have to offer a much higher level than 100,000. Wonder what that will do for premiums?

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[jdfreefly 1]

So, $600 for a semester. Is that up or down from last year? What was it before the health care law?

From many college's point of view, it's not esentially worthless. It's adequate for 90% of the students out there. Yes, it will not adequately cover someone who gets cancer or needs some type of expensive care, but that doesn't mean it's worthless.

Methane Freefly - got stink?

[kelpdiver 2]

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So, $600 for a semester. Is that up or down from last year? What was it before the health care law?

From many college's point of view, it's not esentially worthless. It's adequate for 90% of the students out there. Yes, it will not adequately cover someone who gets cancer or needs some type of expensive care, but that doesn't mean it's worthless.

may not be worthless, but is still a ripoff.

I used to get an individual plan for $60/month at age 29 that covered to 1 million dollars. Or maybe it was 5 million. College kids are cheap.

[kallend 2,106]

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So, $600 for a semester. Is that up or down from last year? What was it before the health care law?

From many college's point of view, it's not esentially worthless. It's adequate for 90% of the students out there. Yes, it will not adequately cover someone who gets cancer or needs some type of expensive care, but that doesn't mean it's worthless.

may not be worthless, but is still a ripoff.

Absolutely correct. The plans are generally way overpriced for what they offer, and the only reason students buy them is that they are a captive audience and have almost no option.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[GeorgiaDon 379]

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So, $600 for a semester. Is that up or down from last year? What was it before the health care law?

I don't know, I don't sell the plan and I have no access to historical data. The point is that it is much better value for the money, compared to the ripoff plans referenced in the article linked to in the OP.

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From many college's point of view, it's not esentially worthless. It's adequate for 90% of the students out there. Yes, it will not adequately cover someone who gets cancer or needs some type of expensive care, but that doesn't mean it's worthless.

It also won't cover a half-way serious car accident, or falling down a flight of stairs and cracking your skull, or treatment for Hepatitis C, and on and on. It might cover a morning after pill, or a case of strep throat. It'll cover the chicken shit stuff people can cover out of pocket anyway without it being the end of the world. The point of having health insurance is 1) to facilitate access to care when you need it, and 2) to guard against complete financial disaster as a result of illness or injury. Plans with a $10,000 cap do neither.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[kelpdiver 2]

if this is really a 10k cap, that means a 4 year student would pay $4800 in premiums for $10000 in coverage. I think that would make even a loan shark feel shame.

Are we sure we're correct, it's not 100k at least?

[jdfreefly 1]

From what I've been reading, it sounds like historically, they typically had a 10K cap and cost about $25-$50 a month.

With the changes mandated by the healthcare bill they are pushed to a 100K cap, but this has resulted in them doubling the premiums, which means most college kids can't/won't afford it.

Methane Freefly - got stink?