By Ayana Arroyo
With jobs, bills and finals to handle, the last thing on a student’s mind these days is having health insurance. It is harmful to be a student with no health insurance because you never know when you might, just, need it.
It is very simple to catch something, like a cold or flu, from someone else.
On the news it has been reported that, the majority of people who have been infected with meningitis have been college students so, it is always better to be one step ahead.
Students should double check to make sure they are insured or not, since it’s a law now.
Although the school does provide some health coverage such as, certain health screenings, TB testing and immunizations, it does not provide everything.
East Los Angeles College’s health service does not provide things such as emergency care, paramedic treatment, x-rays, and diagnostic tests.
According to healthcare.gov, there are multiple options for students to get covered.
Students receiving financial aid are able to buy a health plan at a lower monthly cost, or free with income qualification.
To figure out if you are able to receive lower costs on the insurance, you could log on to www.coveredca.com and find your approximated 2015 household income and household size on a chart the website provides for its users.
By applying through coveredca.com, students will be able to receive help from Premium Assistance, which according to Covered California, is a federal tax credit that helps make health insurance more affordable.
If students find that they qualify for Premium Assistance, there are three different ways they could use it.
First, by applying all tax credits in advance to lower the monthly cost. Another way is by taking some of the tax credits and getting the rest at the end of the year or, by waiting until the end of the year to apply the credits when filing your taxes.
If students have a job, but have an income low enough, where they are not required to file taxes, then they do not have to pay a penalty. The penalty is the amount charged for not having health insurance.
On the website, it shows that the filing limit for an individual in 2013 was around $10,000 gross income every year.
Students should be aware that if they plan on qualifying for lower costs on insurance plans, they must file a tax return.This way they will be able to figure out what plans they do and don’t qualify for.
Another way for a student to obtain their health insurance is by acquiring it on a parent’s plan. Being on a parent’s plan is less hazy, but is only valid until student’s turn 26-years-old.
By being on a parent’s plan, students do not have to worry about much since the parent’s will do all the work.
While looking for a plan, students will be able to find out if they qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid, according to heathcare.gov, is the combined state and federal program that provides coverage to people with limited incomes, disabilities, and some family situations.
A person making up to $16,105 a year qualifies for Medicaid. Students that qualify for financial aid should look into this option, for the most economical health insurance results.
With a handful of options, why not look into being health insured?