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Press releasesHealth Care Coverage One of Great Unknowns for College Grads

Health Care Coverage One of Great Unknowns for College Grads

April 28, 2016 09:00ET

Confusion Over Options and Laws Face Millions About to Graduate

Mountain View, CA – For the millions of college students preparing to graduate over the next few months, determining their health care coverage after graduation can cause as much anxiety and confusion as finding a job or new housing. For many, the immediate post-college years represent the first time in life they may not be covered by their parents’ policies or by their university. Moreover, it may also represent the first time they will be paying for health insurance on their own.

Regardless of whether students have offers in hand or are still hitting the pavement, here are several tips from AgileHealthInsurance.com they should keep in mind:

  • Examine your current student health coverage. Some student health plans will cover you beyond graduation, but every plan is different. If you have student health insurance, find out when your coverage will end.
  • Talk to your parent or guardian The Affordable Care Act allows children to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26. If you are already on your parent’s plan, make sure everyone is on the same page as to how long you’ll stay on that policy. Graduates wanting to join their parents’ plans will have to enroll during open enrollment or a special enrollment period.
  • Learn about special enrollment periods and subsidies. Under the Affordable Care Act, you can only enroll in health coverage during open enrollment or if you qualify for a special enrollment period. While college graduation isn’t a qualifying event, you may qualify due to another life event such as losing your student health plan coverage. You can compare coverage options at HealthCare.gov and see if you qualify for a subsidy.
  • Check out employer-based coverage. Some graduates may be starting a job immediately after graduation. Congrats! However, keep in mind employers can have up to a 90-day waiting period before benefits kick in. Plan ahead for how to have coverage in the meantime.
  • Consider term health insurance. If you have a gap between graduation and starting a job, term health insurance can serve as a bridge until you enroll in another plan. Term health insurance generally has lower premiums than Obamacare plans, but applications are approved or rejected based on health status, including the nature of pre-existing conditions. Additionally, consumers may still be subject to the Obamacare Tax depending on how long they have the coverage and whether they qualify for one of several exemptions.


 

"Graduates face what can seem to be a daunting, confusing landscape of health care coverage rules and regulations," says Sam Gibbs, executive director of AgileHealthInsurance.com. "Yet they have options and can arm themselves with knowledge to make the most informed, cost-effective health care choice that suits their needs."

All students should make sure they understand the benefits offered by different plans, as well as what terms like "premium" and "deductible" refer to. They also should familiarize themselves with the Affordable Care Act — what it requires of them, if they are eligible to receive a subsidy and what the penalty is for not having ACA health insurance. In some instances, health care plans outside of the ACA may suit their needs well and still be less expensive even when factoring in the penalty they would pay.

Graduates also should stay informed about new Obamacare rates set to be released this summer; whether other large providers leave the government marketplace (as UnitedHealthcare recently did); and any changes to the ACA that may be proposed under a new president next year.

To learn more about term health insurance, visit AgileHealthInsurance's Learning Center at www.AgileHealthInsurance.com.

AgileHealthInsurance is the Internet’s first site dedicated to helping consumers understand the benefits of term health insurance. These plans are the culmination of extensive research on health insurance needs in the Affordable Care Act era. AgileHealthInsurance also provides best-of-class plan comparison and online enrollment tools to accompany these new plans. Additional information can be found at www.AgileHealthInsurance.com

CONTACT:   
Kevin McVicker,   
(703) 739-5920   
 

AgileHealthInsurance.com was launched in 2015 to educate consumers on the availability of private market health insurance products that are alternatives to Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) plans. Today AgileHealthInsurance is the largest distributor of short term medical insurance, providing a fast, online process for purchasing these plans. Short Term Medical Insurance is a flexible and low-cost major medical insurance for individuals without expensive pre-existing health conditions. It is not Obamacare. Short-term health plans offer consumers the flexibility to choose health plans with the benefits that matter most to them and combine these benefits with broad provider networks. Additional information about AgileHealthInsurance can be found at www.AgileHealthInsurance.com

Forward-Looking Statements

AgileHealthInsurance.com is a Silicon Valley-based technology company and independently managed division of Health Insurance Innovations, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIIQ). This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical fact, and may include statements relating to goals, plans and projections regarding new markets, products, services, growth strategies, anticipated trends in our business and anticipated changes and developments in the United States health insurance system and laws. Forward-looking statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs are generally identifiable by use of words "may," "might," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue," or similar expressions and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our ability to maintain relationships and develop new relationships with health insurance carriers and distributors, our ability to retain our members, the demand for our products, the amount of commissions paid to us or changes in health insurance plan pricing practices, our ability to integrate our acquisitions, competition, changes and developments in the United States health insurance system and laws, and our ability to adapt to them, the ability to maintain and enhance our name recognition, difficulties arising from acquisitions or other strategic transactions, and our ability to build the necessary infrastructure and processes to maintain effective controls over financial reporting. These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements are discussed in HIIQ's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as other documents that may be filed by HIIQ from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. You should not rely on any forward-looking statement as representing our views in the future. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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