4 ms·

I built a spreadsheet showing how many credits you have to take at a school to qualify for their health insurance plan. In many states, the cost of taking the c

• deegles 6y ago
  What would this do to the university or state’s finances if a ton of people did it? Would it make budget shortfalls? Or do insurance companies just make less from those plans?
  • antcas 6y ago
    Both the school and the insurer would make a bunch more money in the short-term. Might bite the insurer's in the long term if a bunch of sick people sign up, but very sick people don't tend to stay in school.
  • alanbernstein 6y ago
    Perhaps college plans are inexpensive in part because those insured are generally younger and healthier than the overall population? If a representative sample of the general population did this, presumably the prices would adjust upward.
    • antcas 6y ago
      This is part of it, however there's positive price pressure from "anti-selection". Basically healthy young students are more likely to already be insured or be on their parents plans so they opt-out more frequently. Wrote a thread with more deets the other day: https://twitter.com/AnthonyCastrio/status/1298702771986857989 https://twitter.com/AnthonyCastrio/status/129870277198685798...
    • IshKebab 6y ago
      Perhaps, but I think it's more likely just price differentiation the same as any other student discount. Plus universities have better negotiating power than individuals.
  • vonmoltke 6y ago
    I suspect more schools would adopt schemes like Rutgers. They charge part-time students over twice as much as full-time: https://riskmanagement.rutgers.edu/student-information/rates-student-health-insurance-plan-2020-2021 https://riskmanagement.rutgers.edu/student-information/rates...
  • pitaa 6y ago
    So I've had some limited involvement university fee structures and their health clinics. I actually had a conversation with the director of one about these plans. He explained: * The university already has the clinic that is funded by student fees and a bit from the university general fund * Uninsured students are seen for free and just pay for supplies used ($10 for a lab test, $5 for an xray, etc) * They wave all copays for students with outside insurance * For students on the student insurance plan, they are expected to use the clinic for general/minor needs. In these cases, the university agrees to eat the cost and not bill the insurer. So all the insurance company is paying is major medical expenses for services not rendered by the school. Its just like large companies that have an on site clinic to save on their premiums. So technically, it does end up costing the school a bit more if students buy the insurance through them because the school pays for all the supplies that they would normally be reimbursed for. If more student use the clinic, the university will end up having to expend their budget. But in comparison to how much money the university already bleeds, the clinic is a pretty minor cost. I think the whole clinic costs less to run than they pay their athletic director. One interesting side note was regarding students that have outside insurance. Many times, they don't even bother billing the insurance if its just an office visit. Because medical billing is such a mess, they realized that it was actually costing them money to pay someone to deal with it when the insurance will only pay them ~$40 anyway. So they'll only bother if there are additional procedures and they expect a reimbursement >$100.
    • deegles 6y ago
      Thank you!
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• supahfly_remix 6y ago
  I would be interested in seeing your spreadsheet if you're willing to share it.
  • searchableguy 6y ago
    https://healthcareisdumb.com https://healthcareisdumb.com