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.
----------------------------------------------------
Jim Donaldson is writer for the student loan information
site http://www.studentaides.com where there is more
information to be found on student credit cards. please
visit http://www.studentaides.com for more information.
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