Health Insurance for young adults.

[lucigo]

I really don't know much at all about health insurance. We are military and this mess hasn't affected us until now.

My DD24 recently graduated from college and has a first job at a small company that doesn't offer health insurance. She is not eligible to be covered by us, but can purchase it for around $175 per month. This is a LOT of money for her at this point.

Can someone tell me if this is the best option, or if there is a better option, or if it would be better to just pay out of pocket if she gets sick? What do other people do, just take their chances?

 

[chimilady]

I think your smartest option is to go through her alumni office through her college and see if she can get on their cheapest plan. They often have low rates. And FWIW, 175 doesn't seem crazy high to me depending on the type of coverage.

 

[lucigo]

I hadn't thought of this! On their web site they do list a major medical plan for UCF alumni, you have to call for a quote, will check it out, thanks.

 

[disfan07]

Does the ACA law not apply to military insurance coverage? I know with private insurance, young adults can be covered under their parents until they turn 26 (regardless of school status).

If that doesn't apply, defintely check with UCF about their insurance for recent grads. The only issue is that you might have to apply for it before you graduate or right after you graduate.

We have coverage for recent graduates and something called continuous coverage plans for group insurance for the specific company we use for the university I go to.

If not, $175 is not bad. Was that the actual quote that you were given? Or was it what was quoted for her age and place of residence from an insurance company website? Does she have any preexisting conditions? Did you actually apply for an actual quote about an insurance plan. Anything can make the cost go up (including something as basic as allergies!) if the company deems it a pre existing condition.

Good luck! Manuevering the current insurance market is a beast! Luckily its going to get easier soon!

 

[dcfromva]

Does the ACA law not apply to military insurance coverage? I know with private insurance, young adults can be covered under their parents until they turn 26 (regardless of school status).

Tricare is covered under a different section of the law.

Young adults (over 23 and under 26) are not automatically covered under Tricare. There are eligibility requirements (such as not having being eligible for other HI) and they have to enroll and pay an extra premium. The web site has $176 per month for Tricare Prime and $152 per month for Tricare Standard.

TRICARE Young Adult

TRICARE Young Adult overview

 

[lucigo]

Does the ACA law not apply to military insurance coverage? I know with private insurance, young adults can be covered under their parents until they turn 26 (regardless of school status).

If that doesn't apply, defintely check with UCF about their insurance for recent grads. The only issue is that you might have to apply for it before you graduate or right after you graduate.

We have coverage for recent graduates and something called continuous coverage plans for group insurance for the specific company we use for the university I go to.

If not, $175 is not bad. Was that the actual quote that you were given? Or was it what was quoted for her age and place of residence from an insurance company website? Does she have any preexisting conditions? Did you actually apply for an actual quote about an insurance plan. Anything can make the cost go up (including something as basic as allergies!) if the company deems it a pre existing condition.

Good luck! Manuevering the current insurance market is a beast! Luckily its going to get easier soon!

The actual premium for Tricare Young Adult is $176 per month for 2012 and going to be $152 per month in 2013.

The military got screwed on the ACA law, these prices are per child, and right now we have three in that age group and two more right behind them. (We are a brady bunch family!)

As far as preexisting conditions I don't think she has anything that would count, she had an ovarian cyst and had her appendix out.

Its frustrating. She is Ms. Responsible. She went to Orlando with an AA, a paid off car and enough savings and scholarships to get through 2 more years at UCF. She graduated in May, impressed the company she did her internship with to the point that she went straight into a job, has her own apartment, etc. She wants to be independent. The only things I am still paying are car ins. and cell phone, just because they are bundled. But she works with a bunch of "old" married guys who have insurance through their wives!

 

[lucigo]

Tricare is covered under a different section of the law.

Young adults (over 23 and under 26) are not automatically covered under Tricare. There are eligibility requirements (such as not having being eligible for other HI) and they have to enroll and pay an extra premium. The web site has $176 per month for Tricare Prime and $152 per month for Tricare Standard.

TRICARE Young Adult

TRICARE Young Adult overview

We were told that Tricare is a benefit, not an insurance. This helps them get away with not covering a lot of things that are being mandated for other insurances.

 

[buzz2400]

i live in ct. ds is 21. i get his insurance through aetna. only costs about $100 a month. 5,000 ded. but he gets to go to doctors for only 40 a visit, with one annual visit for free. I went through an insurance broker. ds was a smoker when we got the insurance.

 

[danygirl]

check with USAA. I know they used to offer some high deductible catastrophic plans for young people just starting out. It wouldn't cover routine dr visits, but it would cover if she was injured or hospitalized. Also check with aflac.

 

[chimilady]

Its frustrating. She is Ms. Responsible. She went to Orlando with an AA, a paid off car and enough savings and scholarships to get through 2 more years at UCF. She graduated in May, impressed the company she did her internship with to the point that she went straight into a job, has her own apartment, etc. She wants to be independent. The only things I am still paying are car ins. and cell phone, just because they are bundled. But she works with a bunch of "old" married guys who have insurance through their wives!

But 175 is reasonable. It's not very high despite what you are accustomed to. That would have been a negotiating factor for me when I was offered a job. I would have asked for $175 more to cover the cost of the insurance premiums. This seems to me like you or she have sticker shock. That's part of being an adult, carrying coverage, and now she knows next time to find out about the insurance package BEFORE she takes a job. Being that coverage varies widely across companies, I can't imagine NOT doing that. But you don't know until you're in that position. My dad worked for the state, so my parents never had to deal with that and I learned on my own too. Now I work for a company where I pay $3/month to insure my whole family, but I knew that before I took the job. I don't think the policy is unreasonable for your daughter.

 

[starry_solo]

$175/month is not unreasonable. 10 years ago, when I was insuring myself, it was $180/month (in Southern California and the company I worked for only reimbursed me for $120/month) so $175/month now isn't bad.

But, you need to see what that $175/month covers.

 

[dcfromva]

The actual premium for Tricare Young Adult is $176 per month for 2012 and going to be $152 per month in 2013.

Oh, I see you are already looking at the Tricare standard premium. Doesn't Tricare go by fiscal year, though? Oct1-Sep30?

 

[Tistal]

$175 isn't bad. 4 ago while I was in graduate school, it was $225 (or something very close to that...it was $22?) per month, and that was for the cheapest of cheap plans.

 

[crisi]

She can get a high deductible plan for $75 a month or so. It won't be "insurance like she is used to" but if she is a healthy young adult, it is probably her best bet.

I had that sort of insurance for years starting out. When I was in my early twenties, I needed one check up a year (that I got on a sliding scale at Planned Parenthood) and sometimes I needed to swing through a clinic for a strep test and some antibiotics (currently that's about $60 at my Target, because I've paid out of pocket for that this year when my doctor couldn't get us in quickly). Should I have been hospitalized or faced a serious illness, the insurance would have kicked in.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I think the $175 is decent for Tricare coverage. It's 100x better coverage than a high deductible plan. I'm not a fan of high deductible health insurance because if the what if happens you're screwed. I got cancer at 23 so I just don't advocate for those kind of plans.

 

[DVC96]

We're here in Northern Va, hubby is retired AF. Our eldest is 23, soon to be 24. We pay for her Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield and it is about $150 month. This plan has no dental insurance although you can add it for an additional monthly fee. We've been pleased so far - she is anaphylactic so the most important thing to us was good emergency room coverage and being able to get non-generic prescriptions. She is so far happy with the doctors she has seen, too.

 

[lucigo]

Thank you everyone for your replies. We will go talk to the Tricare people when she is up here for Thanksgiving. That will at least give her good coverage for 2 years. Maybe by then she will have a change in circumstances.

As far as knowing the company didn't have healthcare, its a really good first job where she is doing some high profile work that will look awesome in her portfolio and I'm sure will lead to job offers in the future that will pay more and have benefits, but you have to start somewhere, and in this economy what can you do. She did negotiate a bit more to pay for insurance, but they were coming up from a ridiculously low offer.

 

[lucigo]

We're here in Northern Va, hubby is retired AF. Our eldest is 23, soon to be 24. We pay for her Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield and it is about $150 month. This plan has no dental insurance although you can add it for an additional monthly fee. We've been pleased so far - she is anaphylactic so the most important thing to us was good emergency room coverage and being able to get non-generic prescriptions. She is so far happy with the doctors she has seen, too.

Can I ask why you chose this over Tricare? Is it better coverage?

 

[Them!]

Just looking into this as I have a 22 year old turning 23 next summer. No way she will be out of college by then. We have Tricare Prime and the monthly enrollment price $176 is high but the coverage is good. College was same ballpark premium but less coverage and higher copays. I think she is going to have to be on her father's employers insurance at a semi-hefty cost but better than less expensive than Tricare.
I wasn't even sure she could go on her Dad's company insurance but now that age is 26. Whew.

 

[dismichelle]

OP, even if she had insurance offered through her employer, that price probably would have been what she would have been paying anyway.
I pay about $400/month for a family plan, so $175 sounds about right for a single person.