Student Health InsuranceWritten by Tony Novak
Students often wonder if they really need health insurance. It seems like a reasonable question when you are young and healthy and seemingly invincible. After all, almost everyone who knows how to access health care system is provided with basic health care services and acute care (like emergency care) in United States, regardless of whether or not they have health insurance. Young adults tend to use health care services less often than any other group. The odds are that a young adult will go more than 12 months without any need for health care. Even among those who need health care, likelihood of exceeding $1000 annual healthcare expenses is very small. So it is reasonable to wonder whether a young adult really needs health insurance at all.But situation changes when we consider more extensive and more costly types of health care. The ability of a patient to obtain top quality medical care for most serious types of health care - things like transplants, extended hospital care, physical rehabilitation, and long term outpatient care - depend more on whether patient has adequate health insurance than any other factor. A simple attack of appendicitis could easily wind up costing more than $25,000. Even an affluent family will have difficulty arranging adequate medical care without insurance coverage. Unfortunately, if you wait until you need this type of care it will be difficult or impossible to buy health insurance that covers these items. Often most immediate insurance concern for young people is fact that most colleges, trade schools, internship programs, sports teams, community-sponsored travel opportunities and many other activities require health insurance as an admission requirement. Without health insurance, you do not pass "go". So there is usually no question about it - most young people with ambitions to advance their education need to have some type of health insurance. Coverage Options There are many types of health insurance plans available to young adults. The most popular plans are listed below. Parent's Policy - Most students continue to be covered under a parent's policy. If this option is available, it is almost always best option. But most health plans require that proof of full-time enrollment be provided. Be aware of maximum age for this benefit. In many cases this coverage will expire when student reaches age 23 (or at another age as stated in insurance policy). Employer Group Coverage - Most employers provide health insurance to their full time employees and pay for most of cost of this employee benefit. This is called group health coverage. This benefit is completely under control of employer. Many people do not realize that there is no requirement for an employer to provide this benefit. Most group health plans require that new employees wait a few months before becoming eligible for coverage. School-Sponsored Coverage – These are usually uninsured managed care arrangements to provide care to students in local area of college or university. Student Medical Policies – These are privately insured major medical policies designed specifically for students. These are portable and offer coverage to student in any location in U.S. These plans also cover graduate students, and are available regardless of age or health. In most parts of U.S., students can buy a high quality health insurance plan for less than $70 per month at www.medsave.com.
| | UNEMPLOYMENT INCREASE DEMANDS MORE EMPLOYEE SCREENINGWritten by Mason Duchatschek
If Chicken Little lived today, no doubt he would be running through streets screaming, “the economy is falling.” The sudden and unexpected rise in unemployment has populated applicant pools with eager, and in many cases, desperate applicants, willing to say and do about anything to get a job. At very least, applicants needing work may be willing to take jobs they don’t like or aren’t cut out for until they can find something better. Employers who don’t identify best applicants for available positions, first time, will have to pay price of doing it over, and over, and over!That’s bad news to employers lacking effective assessment and selection processes. Employers should utilize as many employment screening options as are legally available. Pre-employment skill, attitude, personality, and drug testing, are necessities as well as reference checks, background checks, trial periods, and interviews.
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