gusgus Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Hi all, I'm a soon-to-be PA student and am seeking health insurance. I am currently uninsured and am living in the state of NY (also where the PA program I will be attending is located). How are you all insured (through private insurances/ state insurance/ etc) and how much do you pay per month for it? My school provides a health insurance but it is about $250/ month and I'm hoping to find a cheaper option. I don't know what my options are and any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I will not be able to have a job or be covered that way. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 All of the students in my program are either insured under their parents, their spouse, or use the school insurance. Yes, it's expensive. But it's easy and as it's required, we can use loans to cover it (yea yea I know loans are bad but that's life). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animeswordmaster Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Medicaid might be worth looking into. I know of a PA student who aged out their parents insurance after their first year in school and moved to Medicaid. School insurance for us is $1,800 per semester, which was way too expensive, but if you haven't worked or make below the poverty line, then Medicaid might be the way to go. It's free monthly from what I understand. Another option is to go through Obama Care's marketplace options. That'll probably end up cheaper than school insurance too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 $250 a month seems about average here too (FL) for school insurance. A PPO will always be a bit more expensive than a HMO, but if the flexibility is something you like, then it is a good choice, and if you end up needing specialists, very well worth it. In reality $250/mo is a bargain. I broke my fibula (~40k) an uninsured friend broke his femur (~80k) and another friend was hit by a drunk driver, causing various musculoskeletal problems ($100k+) all of us were under 30 years old at the time of our respective events. It's not just about Dr visits, misc labs, or a off chance visit to an urgent care or ER; life happens... Medicaid also comes with some serious limitations, do some digging and decide if it's worth it for you. But if you can afford a decent PPO, I would say go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles2go Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 MEDICAID!I called up the main number for health care and they really helped me with this and got me great insurance with Medicaid! I legit called up and said I can’t afford my school’s health insurance!https://nystateofhealth.ny.govSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted April 13, 2018 Administrator Share Posted April 13, 2018 8 hours ago, miles2go said: ... got me great insurance with Medicaid! No such thing. Might as well learn that now... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 I found myself in the same position after my job ended for school. School insurance was about the same as OPs, I could buy full priced crap insurance off the ACA but didn't make enough money to qualify for the big discounts on premiums, or I could apply for Medicaid in my home state (one of the most expansive and inclusive states for the program). The first year of school I had recorded about 6months of FT pay on my taxes because I had worked January thru June before school started in August, so I actually had great ACA insurance for about 70 a month because I made enough to get the big discounts but little enough that I qualified for it still. Check out your states ACA and Medicaid program requirements and limitations so you're not breaking the law or falsifying your qualifications. Fyi, state Medicaid is pretty much restricted to the state you reside in. So if you attend school in another state, you will not be covered while there unless you change your residency. (with few exceptions) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steakPA Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 As others have said above, medicaid is an option. You have to make above a certain amount (I think 12k) to qualify for subsidies under ACA, otherwise you have to pay full price for a crappy plan. So ACA was not an option for me. Although it seems expensive, I recommend going with the school plan. Mine is about $220/month but if I go through the health center, all visits and medications are covered (everything except brand name stuff is available there). I think it should be similar with other schools. Bottom line - take a loss on this one and go for the convenience of school insurance if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 If you are a veteran, you can register with your local VAMC for space available benefits and use that as proof of insurance for school. Consider healthcare sharing ministries though this may be limited due to your faith or lack of. You could roll the dice and opt out of school insurance if they let you. Likely during your clinical year, this will become a bigger issue since many institutions require a student to hold insurance due to the fact a student on clinical rotation is NOT covered by workman compensation. If you have income for the year, you can go to the exchanges but the worthwhileness depends upon the state. As pointed out, without income, medicaid is should be available but differs from state to state concerning eligibility and restrictions. Hopefully some of the wanna bes on this forum read through this. The details of attending PA school extend past learning the craft. Good luck. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Most likely expensive thing to happen to you on rotation is a needle stick. Testing and prophylactic meds can be around $2000. Make sure your policy will cover this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equestrian307 Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 I'm also in NY and insured through medicaid. Because I'm married and our combined income is so low, I don't have a monthly payment and the coverage is actually pretty good as long as you are in network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.