health insurance, disability, and grad school?
Hey everybody I have a question. I have quadriplegic cerebral palsy and am currently living at home and on my parent’s health insurance. However in June I plan to move out for grad school. Due to my disability getting my own insurance will be really expensive. I really want to be able to continue to be covered on my parent’s plan. Does anyone know about this? We have a call in to our company but I thought I would ask here too. Also does applying for SSDI affect this in any way? Thanks Eva
Public Comments
- If you get SSDI, you will get picked up by either Medicare or Medicaid and they will pay for your medical care though I don't know if there is a co-payment for that. Check w/ your agent to see if you can stay on your folks plan given the disability. Good luck
- Yes, applying for SSDI will affect it - once you're on SSDI for 27 months, you're eligible for MEDICARE. It's also highly possible that due to your disability, you'd be eligible NOW, either through your state's CHIP program, or directly with Medicare, or a high risk state program - because NO ONE is going to give you a private policy, with the CP I'm sorry to say. Are you sure you're not on any type of SS now? Normally, you would have been eligible, well, pretty much since birth. Which would be good for you, because THEN you don't have that 27 month waiting period . . .
- Here are other options - 1. Check with your parents' insurance agent. If you are a dependent, you may be able to stay on their policy, even though you don't live with them. 2. Check with the university. If you are a full time student, you may be able to get cheap health insurance through the university. (I went back for a Master's at age 39, and paid the same premium as the rest of the students. The premium for each SEMESTER was less than 25% of what I would have had to pay through COBRA every MONTH.)
