Seven Tips for College Graduates Seeking Health Insurance

Graduates face real-world challenges that are sometimes more complex than college-era responsibilities, including the search for health insurance. Purchasing health insurance is a crucial step toward protecting both health and finances. A medical catastrophe can cripple financial growth for a very long time. College graduates seeking health insurance should follow a few sensible steps to increase their chances of finding the right policy at affordable prices.

Check Your Parents' Coverage

• College graduates seeking health insurance should first find out how long they're covered as a dependent on their parents' insurance policies. Graduates may be covered until age 23, 24 or 25 under their parents' policy, which gives more time to find the right health insurance policy independently. Other policies offer just a short grace period after graduation before booting kids from the plan.

Compare Deductibles vs. Premiums

• One tip for college graduates seeking health insurance is to compare the monthly or quarterly premium costs with the annual deductible. Health insurance companies define deductibles as the amount people are expected to pay each year before specified coverage kicks in. For example, a student may have to contribute $1,000 in medical expenses before coverage begins. Deductibles and premiums often have an inverse relationship; if monthly premiums are quite low, deductibles may be higher. Conversely, graduates may pay significantly higher premiums and enjoy a low deductible that kicks in after contributing $500, for example.

Avoid Gaps in Coverage

• Avoid permitting a significant gap in health insurance coverage after graduating. After a certain period of time, insurance companies may exclude preexisting conditions from the policy for up to one year. Act quickly.

Find Employment with Coverage

• For lucky college graduates who score employment right away, chances are good that employers will provide a health insurance option. It's still a good idea to review your new employer's benefits plan and determine whether supplemental health insurance is necessary.

Look for Short-term Insurance

• For those who can't afford traditional health insurance as a college graduate struggling with an entry-level paycheck, another tip is to purchase short-term insurance. This insurance type mainly covers catastrophic medical emergencies, such as a serious car accident. This is a fallback option and is better than having no insurance at all. Prices for this type of insurance can be steep.

Seek Professional Advice

• College graduates with little experience navigating through health insurance options or who have a preexisting condition may benefit from talking with a professional agent to discuss potential options. Checking with a doctor may also help graduates get a sense of how much coverage is needed for particular medical conditions.

Stay Honest

• Concealing or misrepresenting information about health history on an insurance application can result in immediate rejection; worse, the insurance may deny coverage for expensive medical care down the line upon learning that the applicant wasn't honest. It's best to handle applications with complete truthfulness.