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College Graduates' Health Care Benefits Dilemma
By Meghan Carpenter, TheWorldJournal.com

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With the cost of health insurance is rapidly rising and an economy turning sour, graduating seniors must make career decisions based on health benefits or their ability to pay for those benefits out of pocket.

Some graduates remain covered under their parents' insurance policies, but others must find coverage through their employer or from their own provider.

Bel Air, Md., based Champion Insurance Advantage says it provides health insurance to students that is renewable after college. Although the company Web site boasts affordability and flexibility in doctors, the plan does not cover regular doctor visits or dental work.

Recent University of Maryland graduate Chris Boan analyzes software for the Defense Department, and said he was not worried about finding health insurance during his job search.

"I expected to get health insurance with any full-time job I found," he said. "I mean it's a pretty standard benefit, I wouldn't imagine any employer wouldn't offer it."

Boan is subcontracted to the Defense Department by Xacta Corp., which offered him two options for health coverage, an HMO and a PPO. HMOs provide comprehensive coverage for entire families for a monthly fee, but only from a list of doctors. PPOs are similar to HMOs, but participants can sometimes go outside the list of doctors and still get coverage.

"I took the HMO because it's cheaper, and I don't really have any medical needs right now," Boan said. "I don't plan on needing to see a specialist."

Xacta takes about $30 out of each of Boan's biweekly paychecks, but the cost to his employer is about $1,000, he said.

Although Boan's employer provides health, vision, life and dental insurance plans, many employers do not offer any benefits, especially to part-time workers.

Champion offers plans with payments of about $200 to almost $900, with deductibles of $250 to $2,500, but the coverage is renewable past graduation, according to the company Web site.

For those open to alternative options, a Web site discussing affordable health insurance options offers this advice from Tom Wildsmith, a researcher for the Washington, D.C., based Health Insurance Association of America: marry someone with benefits.

© March 13, 2003

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