@juddson: that must be frustrating...for 450/mo you would expect much, much better than that.
Our student health plan is ~300/mo, plus ~30/mo for dental. It is not an excellent plan, but it is decent. (Aetna/US Healthcare). I did not read the family literature for it, but I did read the rest carefully.
I assume your spouse is not working, or is self-employed. In this case, you may want to think very carefully about choosing your health plan, since a more expensive plan may save you money in the long term. The amount of financial aid (read: loans) will cover your health insurance costs if you live frugally, but you may be left high&dry if you are stuck with a big hospital bill and no insurance.
My advice is to always read about the plan on the internet, and request a copy of the healthplan book first (usually a BIG book they only give out voluntarily after you purchase the plan) and do some research. Are your meds in their CPB's? (Clinical Policy Bulletins) and formulary? If you need quick access to specialists, will your plan be flexible with this?
Oftentimes the people to contact about health insurance purchases are the student life staff (the office of student activities, student life etc). They may have some recommendations to offer.
