Health Insurance For College Is Crucial

My mom lost her job when I was a senior in high school, and she started working from home. From that day on, we never had health insurance again as a family. When I started college, I found out that I had to have health insurance coverage. The school offered an insurance package, and even though it was somewhat expensive, I bought it anyway. Then while I was still in college, I got a full-time job working for a motorcycle dealership. Through them I purchased the health insurance I needed for school and dropped the school policy. The cost of my new insurance was about one tenth of what my old insurance cost each month.

Right away I picked a primary care physician and made an appointment for a wellness check. I hadn't had a physical in years and really needed one. I was glad to know that I had a primary care physician and would see the same person anytime I got sick.

About three months into my job the company started having some financial issues. The owners didn't want to lay off any employees. One of the first things they did to help their bottom line was drop their health insurance coverage. There I was once again, without health insurance right along with all of my co-workers.

The loss of the health insurance really affected one of my co-workers in particular because he and his wife were expecting a baby. COBRA insurance that would only cover the pregnancy and delivery was available for a few hundred dollars a month. To cover his whole family for everything, the cost of COBRA would cost 2-3 times more. He couldn't afford that, so he left the company for another job. Even after getting another job, though, his wife's pregnancy still wasn't covered because it was a pre-existing condition. To make sure everyone in his family was covered for everything, he had to buy the COBRA insurance to cover the pregnancy and buy the company insurance for coverage for the family.

For me, I had to go back to purchasing my own insurance. I shopped around and found something that was much cheaper than what the school offered and it was very good. I was able see my doctor for wellness checkups as well as when I was sick, and I was covered in case I needed to go to the hospital or have a catastrophic illness.

I never realized what it meant to be without health insurance. I didn't know the stress my mom was under not having coverage for her children because you never know when you might end up in the hospital. Not only did my co-workers loose their insurance, some lost their jobs. Everyone lost their peace of mind.