Congratulations on Your College Graduation – Now Get Health Insurance

After the pomp and circumstance marches, the commencement addresses and that most exciting moment when you moved the tassel from one side of the mortar board hat to the other, your parents beamed broad smiles and burst with pride.  You made it through a rigorous four years of coursework to meet the requirements of your college or university to be granted a bachelor’s degree.  It’s a great day, one of unlimited joy and optimism.  Nothing could be better.  Nothing can go wrong, right? 

But stuff happens and you really need to be ready for it.

With graduation or reaching a specific age, your parent’s health insurance policy does not cover you anymore.  In fact, 30 percent of people ages 19 through 29 are uninsured.   

Did any of them ever go to class?  Instead of being smart about the frailty of life, this age group tends to believe they’re invincible or simply do not recognize the necessity of health insurance, especially as we confront seemingly ever-rising health care costs. 

The reality is young adults, no matter how healthy, are vulnerable to serious health issues.  Accidental injuries are the leading cause of medical claims for the age group. In addition, there is increasing incidence of chronic illnesses within this population, like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. 

The thought that health insurance is too expensive for someone just out of college is incorrect.  In fact, the cost of being uninsured could prove to be worse.  Nobody should have to start off their career saddled with medical debt.

While as a newly-minted graduate you may know all there is to know about the history of post-modernism art or thermo-dynamics engineering or calculating wave energy flux for renewable energy production, there is much you can and should know about health insurance and the options college graduates have in terms of types of plans and associated costs.

Young adults represent a relatively low risk factor for insurance companies.  A graduate should evaluate health plan options based on individual healthcare needs.  Major medical insurance plans will permit an individual to select a high deductible, say $5,000, in order to get a very low affordable premium.  This type of plan will provide coverage if the individual faces a catastrophic medical event, but isn’t going to cover routine and predictable healthcare needs.  Another option is a low-cost limited medical plan, as offered by Cinergy Health.  This type of plan provides coverage for more immediate needs like routine doctor visits and short term hospital stays without a deductible.  

Top 5 Tips for College Grads without Health Insurance:

• Do not wait to secure health insurance.  If you have any existing medical conditions and are being dropped from your parents’ health plan, there’s a 63-day window to get into another plan without a waiting period on the pre-existing conditions.  

• Be sure to select a plan that meets HIPAA requirements and is creditable.  This will provide the security needed if you switch plans in the future and if you have a chronic medical condition. 

• Determine your monthly cost for health insurance. Once a target premium has been determined there are many other important considerations that will help guide you in the selection process and structure a plan design that makes sense for your particular healthcare needs and your risk appetite for periodic out-of-pocket charges. To reduce your monthly premium you can design a plan around your specific needs based on your answers to these questions.

• Evaluate health plan options based on their individual healthcare needs. Major medical insurance plans will permit an individual to select a high deductible, say $5,000, in order to get a very low affordable premium.  This type of plan will provide coverage if the individual faces a catastrophic medical event, but isn’t going to cover your routine and predictable healthcare needs while you’re in that deductible period.

• Choosing a policy that doesn’t include catastrophic coverage is also an option to lower your premium rates. There are low-cost limited medical plans, such as those offered by Cinergy Health, which provides coverage for the individual’s more immediate needs like routine doctor visits, x-rays and short term hospital stays without a deductible

Think back, for just a moment, on the commencement speech.  No doubt the speaker made the observation that graduation does not mark an end, but a new beginning.  Start the next phase in life’s journey by getting an affordable, flexible, sensible health insurance policy now.

# # #