Please help me figure out my student health insurance situation

[southwestpremed06]

(I apologize if I sound misinformed. I am a complete noob about how health insurance coverage works, so please bear with me)

I'm currently stressing about my student health insurance options for next year. I am about 80% sure I'm attending a DO school out of state (PA) next fall. I just realized they do not offer student health insurance, but require proof of health insurance pre-matriculation. I am currently enrolled in Medicaid in the state I live in right now (CA), but I don't think I can use this if I need medical care while attending school 3000 miles away, plus I'll lose eligibility when I move out of state anyway. I'm basically giving them proof of health insurance that I won't have by the time I'm a student there, right? (Please correct me if I'm wrong)

What I'm concerned about is if the school doesn't accept my Medicaid, what are my options for the required coverage when there is no student insurance offered? From a quick google search PA seemed to have expanded Medicaid, so is it feasible to simply apply for Medicaid there and use that? Or should I suck it up and pay $250+/month for a private plan? I'm really against the latter since living in the city is pretty expensive already.

I have another school I'm thinking of attending that does offer health insurance in a lower cost of living city. But it seems silly to pick a school based on whether they offer student health insurance or not.

If anyone has experience with getting insurance for school, I would really appreciate the help! Thanks 🙂

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[deleted480308]

Morally I think you should buy insurance if you are going to have it, but moving past that to just logistics:

Call your destination state and find out if youwould get medicaid and in what timeframe. Then call the school and ask how they handle people applying for medicaid. This will give more information to make a decision on medicaid/buy private.

 

[allantois]

I’ve never heard of a school not offering health insurance. You can reach out to them to find out what most students do at their school

 

[Magus5454]

Some schools definitely dont offer it.

 

[DO2015CA]

You are eligible for the state affordable healthcare act “obamacare” if you lose your insurance within the last 60 days. No need to wait for open enrollment. If you claim your loans then you should be eligible for the healthcare credit making the insurance affordable. So turn in your current insurance to pass your schools check then as soon as you move to PA then sign up for Obamacare.

 

[arc5005]

I'll have a similar situation. I'll be leaving my employer insurance to start med school and too old to be on my parent's insurance. I guess I'll have to try to figure out Obamacare.

 

[allantois]

For Obamacare you need to be making some income