What Health Insurance Plan Will Best Fit Your Students’ Needs?

Selecting a health insurance plan for your school is a tall order. After all, there are plenty of things you need to take into consideration: coverage, price, support, and other factors must be considered. And with so many options on the market, trying to determine what the best plan truly is can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

When you’re considering health insurance plans, however, it is essential to think about what is going to best fit your students’ needs.

Demographics

The first thing you need to do when you consider health insurance plans is to consider the demographics of your student body. Many people assume students are all young people who have just finished high school and have relatively few concerns; they don’t have mortgages or kids to think about. Others think that many of them are going to school with help from parents or grandparents. 

That’s not necessarily true for every school, however! The student body is becoming more and more diverse. Nowadays, students could just as easily be people in their 30s or 40s switching careers. Some of them will have significant debt. Some may have already completed one or more degrees or certificates. Others may have children of their own or spouses they need to support. 

A lot of this depends on the type of institution and your health insurance plan should reflect the people who attend your school.

Domestic vs. International Students

While both domestic and international student bodies have been growing, schools have been less equipped to deal with the rise in the number of international students. This is especially true where international students are now choosing to study at more diverse institutions. Some schools may be accepting international students for the first time. While international students still represent a smaller number of students than domestic students on most campuses in the US, you should still consider their needs when you research health insurance plans. 

International students have different needs than domestic students and vice versa. Domestic students, for example, need health insurance plans that are compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), whereas international students are exempt from the ACA’s provisions. International students may also require additional support in the form of a translatoror require insurance for things like emergency evacuation.

Study Abroad Programs

Does your school offer a study abroad program for your domestic students? If so, you may need to think about offering study abroad insurance to those lucky students who will get to jet off and study in all corners of the globe.

For schools that support several study-abroad programs, offering a single policy that covers these programs and provides the same level of coverage across programs may be important. Some institutions will also think about combining study abroad insurance options with the domestic student plan.

Mandated or Not?

No matter who your students are or where they come from, a mandated insurance plan is often a great option. Mandating your plan ensures that all your students have access to coverage, which protects both them and medical providers in your community. It can also be an excellent recruitment tool.

A Support Network

Once you’ve surveyed the demographics of your school and determined your students’ needs, you can begin to narrow down the field of health insurance plans. But there are still many options that will seem to fit the bill.

In those cases, look for plans that provide coverage that goes above and beyond, such as plans that offer additional support services for no additional cost. Getting superior service is always in the best interests of your students.