Kids not on insurance anymore - what do we do now?

[TupperMom7]

My son is 20 and is not on our insurance for health and dental anymore. Luckily he is healthy for the most part. He does need to go to a dentist to have his teeth cleaned and has one cavity that we know of. What do people do that have no insurance? Do most dentists have payment plans or what? He's not working - he has a learning disability which is making it even more difficult for him to get a job.

I recently visited the Social Security website, but I'm not sure if he qualifies for anything they offer.

For more than one reason, I worry about what would happen if he got in an accident or came down with an illness - what would we do? There are, according to Washington, millions of people without health insurance. What do they do?

 

[DVC'96]

Hi,
We recently got a dental plan through BC/BS for our family, and you can purchase it for an individual also. It covers 2 cleanings a year and will pay a set amount for other procedures and then you are responsible for the rest to your dentist. Some dentists do have payment plans, and there are even places that will loan you the money for more expensive dental procedures. We are self-employed and our coverage was very expensive. The state we live in has a program for people who have certain medical conditions that make them hard to insure and we were able to get coverage with a more reasonable premium through that program. Maybe you can check with your state insurance comission for a similar program in your state. Your son may also be eligible for some type of coverage because of his learning disability.
Good luck in your search!

 

[dawson5]

not sure about the insurance but what about a dental college?

 

[AndreaDM]

We have health insurance but have never had dental insurance, it hasn't been offered by our employers. We just pay all dental expenses out of pocket, it sucks, but that's what we (and many other people) do. If it's something major they may offer a payment plan but probably not just for cleanings, etc. I had 2 root canals and a crown last year so we went through their payment plan called Care Credit where we have 12 months to pay it off with no interest.

 

[Darcy03231]

You (or your son) can buy individual health/dental insurance policies. I did it for a period of time when we didn't have coverage. Depending on what you pick for coverage and deductibles will depend on the monthly rate. We picked a high deductible ($5k) as we're a very healthy family so we had a low monthly premium. Our thought was $5k is repayable but if something really bad happened $100k is impossible.

 

[bunny]

Because of his age, you can probably buy him an inexpensive policy which will at least cover major medical expenses such as operations and hospitalization. You will then need to pay for doctor's visits out of pocket.

If he need an operation without insurance, he will need to pay for it out of pocket.

 

[bettymae1121]

The good news is that generally, cleanings and routine exams/x-rays/fillings and such aren't too expensive. If you add up the annual costs of routine dental care, I'd bet you'd find that it about equals what you'd pay in annual insurance premiums. Where it comes in handy are the more expensive things, like root cannals, tooth extraction, etc.

As for medical insurance, you may be able to get "catostrophic" insurance. Basicly you pay for all routine issues and the insurance only kicks in if you hit a certain dollar amount, then it covers you 100%. Usually it has to hit well into the 5 figures before it will pay anything. So if you break your leg and it's, let's say $2000, that's out of pocket, but if you have a major accident and spend a monthin ICU and have a $250,000 hospital bill, you're covered 100%. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

You could also do an HSA policy. That's similar to the catostorphic plan actually, but instead you save money until you reach whatever the deductable is in a tax deductable account, and then when you have medical issues, you can pay for it out of that account. Once you hit the deductable, everything is fully covered by insurance. Usually it takes a year or two to fully fund that savings account, but once you get it saved up, it can be a pretty good way to go. My explanation isn't very good, but just Google it and you'll get a better idea.

Either way, these types of policies tend to be less expensive than traditional plans, because a lot of the smaller "nickle and dime" expenses aren't paid for by insurance. Whatever you do, you want to make sure he has some type of coverage, because if he does get ill, then he'll have a pre-existing condition and may not be able to get coverage of any kind at all.

 

[akenneson]

Is he in college? Some companies will allow you to keep your children on your policy if they are in college (I think up to the age of 25)...or some colleges offer medical plans/care that you could look into...Just a thought

 

[sksjasams]

Wisconsin just passed a law, effective Jan 2010, that allows parents to keep kids on their insurance through age 27. They do not need to be in school. Have you checked into this? Maybe other states will follow suit...

Our dentist allows payments for the parts not covered by insurance. If your son is a regular patient, I'm sure you could work something out with his dentist for payments to get that cavity taken care of - that would be a lot less expensive than having to get a crown down the road.

Walgreens and Shopkos here have walk-in clinics, where you can see someone for I think about $50, if he were to have a minor issue, like say strep throat. It's risky not having major medical coverage, so try to at least find that for him. Does your state offer any coverage for low income adults with no children? We have Badgercare Plus in our state.

Good luck...

 

[seashoreCM]

You might want to crunch some (not just a few) numbers and find out the consequences of letting him fend for himself in a manner similar to the zillions of others without health insurance.

Except you get him in to fix the tooth cavity pronto and pay for that out of your pocket.

IMHO emergency room care as rendered to the "indigent masses" is no different than "regular" care except for the door to the hospital you enter and the price tag.

 

[SandrA9810]

he might qualify for medicaid...

If he's not in school, try to get him to take a couple college courses. I wasn't a fan of college and regular educational classes didn't fly too well. But some of the electives are great. Then you should be able to keep him on your policy, most allow for students until 25 or something. If your insurance doesn't allow it, then you can go through the school. Plus it lookls slightly better to have "some college" on his applications than just finished high school.

I've heard it's cheaper to have continueing coverage rather than picking it up after it's dropped.

I grew up without insurance... Well through the divorce i was on my father's and it wasn't worth the hassle because everything had to be paid up front, plus it was only medical. I had to have a root canal done, and my aunt's dentist did it for me for a discount of just a 1000$, but he did allow for monthly 100$ payments. And it was all special circumstance. Same thing with vision, i got glasses like every 5yrs or so, or whenever mine became too scratched up.

Now that i have insurance and i see the dentist regularly and i get new glasses every year, i never want to go back to not having it.

 

[trip]

he might qualify for medicaid...

If he's not in school, try to get him to take a couple college courses. I wasn't a fan of college and regular educational classes didn't fly too well. But some of the electives are great. Then you should be able to keep him on your policy, most allow for students until 25 or something. If your insurance doesn't allow it, then you can go through the school. Plus it lookls slightly better to have "some college" on his applications than just finished high school.

I think most plans require the student to be enrolled full time, so at most schools that would be 12 credits.

 

[katied]

I know my brother had a policy to cover catostrophic events post college - offered thru the school to all graduates at some good rates. He was a heathly kid, but then came down with a massive sinus infection at age 23 that put him in the hospital (critical for a couple days) and required surgery. Would have been a complete disaster for him without insurance. He would have had to declare bankruptcy at age 23, or else the family would have been looking to come up with $100K plus for the bills. As it was, there was about $5K in out of pocket costs before insurance kicked in which we helped him cover.

So - even for someone who seems healthy, you never know what could happen. It's best to try to find something that would cover major medical expenses at least.

 

[ceecee]

My son is 20 and is not on our insurance for health and dental anymore. Luckily he is healthy for the most part. He does need to go to a dentist to have his teeth cleaned and has one cavity that we know of. What do people do that have no insurance? Do most dentists have payment plans or what? He's not working - he has a learning disability which is making it even more difficult for him to get a job.

Look into a medical policy that covers if something like an accident should happen. As for dental, most plans cost more than the treatment if all he needs is a cleaning/one filling. Most dental offices have a plan called Care Credit which is like a charge card and depending on the amount charged it can be interest free for a number of months. If you live near a dental school check into that. Our community college has a dental hygiene program and they do prophys there at a low cost.

 

[pommfrites]

Is he in college? Some companies will allow you to keep your children on your policy if they are in college (I think up to the age of 25)...or some colleges offer medical plans/care that you could look into...Just a thought

I second this! I was on my parents' BC/BS til I was 21, then got college coverage til 25. I also had my teeth done at our dental school on campus by students. I had to have my tooth rebleached from my root canal and luck have it, none of the students had ever done one....so, the prof. did it and the students assisted. It cost me a grand total of $100 for cleaning and bleaching....not bad

 

[mistysue]

I agree look for a major medical plan that just covers huge things, skip the dental because it will probably cost more for the insurance than just paying out of pocket.

Look for a dental school.
The nearest university should have one. They often will do the work for a fraction of the cost. The students have to have everything they do overseen by the professionals in charge, who are usually some of the best you could go to anyways. The appointment will take longer, but cost much less. It isn't unusual not to have dental coverage. Most people really don't go in twice a year, most likely it isn't going to hurt him to stretch it to 9 months or a year between visits.

 

[JeffreyY]

Have you tried Healthy NY. I am not sure what income you need, but he might qualify since he is not working.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

When I went off my parent's policy at age 22, I didn't have a job with benefits. But it was my problem now, not my parents. I had to either find a policy or find a real full-time job - my parents were done with parenting. It was up to me now. They never seemed concerned, since it was not their responsibility anymore. I understood that it was my problem to deal with alone.

I did eventually get a catastrophic insurance of some sort - even to this day I don't know what it covers.

I think it's great when parents help kids with insurance - some young adults (like me) had no clue what to do. I could have used some guidance back then.

 

[Ava]

I didn't have any insurance for about 2 years after I graduated from college. Basically, I just didn't go to the doctor or dentist for 2 years. I did end up needing to see an eye doctor because I scratched my cornea! He gave me a reduced price because I didn't have insurance, but it still cost me $250 for the first visit and $125 each for two follow-up visits.

 

[scrdofbugs]

We purchased indv coverage for our daughter through our local BCBS plan. She is a child (13) but they have policies for adults too. He may qualify for the child one til he is 21. I would check with your local plan. Even if all you can get is a major medical policy this would help in case of a injury or illness. THey normally do not cover dr visits for like wellness or colds. They normally have a high deductible. Also, we purchased a dental plan for our family from the local BCBS and it is $40 a month for family coverage. You can do to the BCBS of your state website online and alot of them have estimate cost for policies. Also, some insur co that do house/car insur also have medical policies you may want to check that too.