Health Insurance-Are You Covered?

This year I must admit that I am NOT looking forward to my birthday. It is not that I am fearing a quarter-life crisis or that I cannot think of anything that I want as a gift. The problem is that I am no longer a dependant! I no longer have a primary sponsor!

In case you don't understand, I will be 23, out of school and no longer on my dad's insurance!!!!

About six months ago, I was preparing for job interviews, graduate school applications and making sure that my resume was flawless. I was not aware that I should also be shopping around for the best health insurance premiums, worrying about the lowest deductibles or the highest out-of-network coverage.

For those of you who may be dealing with this or have relatives in the same situation, there is hope.

Here are a couple of options:

1. Get a job w/ benefits! There are many non-corporate companies that offer health insurance to both full time AND part time employees. This includes places that you may not think about such as UPS, Home Depot, Starbucks, Belk and other retail jobs.

2. COBRA-Don't worry about what it stands for, just know that COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates. Pasted from <http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html> Chances are that your former insurance company has a COBRA policy that allows you to pay a certain premium and this enables you to have similar coverage until you have obtained secure coverage by getting a substantial job or go back to school.

3. If you go back to grad school, negotiate with your school a scholarship that will offer some sort of health coverage. This often is in the form of a fellowship or a graduate assistantship where you are considered an employee of the university. Chances are that you will not be going to graduate school in the same state as your parent's insurance. Therefore, you will want an insurance plan that is in the same state as your school. Otherwise, you will be paying additional out-of-network fees and higher deductibles around the first of the year.