Thursday, June 10, 2010

Student health insurance is about to save my life

On my 2009 taxes, I claimed over $6000 in medical expenses. That includes my monthly premium, which last year was only $403 (This year it sky-rocketed to $458/month). Considering my income last year, I will state that it was approximately 1/4 of my yearly expenses. I have gone into massive debt at only age 26 to secure a civil right-health care. I have the added unfortunate problem of a nagging heart condition which prevents me from getting reliable, basic care.

When I ended up in the hospital last year due to food poisoning, I was honestly ecstatic. Because I felt my money hadn't been a total waste. Woohoo! I finally had a reason to be paying this exorbitant amount. And beyond that, I am still fighting with an Emergency Room doctor who is claiming that he was "out of network" and therefore I owe him an additional $125 that my insurance wouldn't pay. This story could go on forever, but I digress.

My sanity has been forever saved by the student health care plan. After a little research, I am comfortable in the idea of going on Pepperdine's actually affordable (well, compared to what I've been paying, almost anything is) health care plan with Aetna. In addition, for only about $200/year, I can get dental! If you haven't looked into it, I highly suggest it. Having this issue taken care of not only allows me to use more of my loan money for actual living needs but also allows me to breathe. It is extremely frustrating feeling like your healthcare needs are holding you hostage, and now they aren't. I can only hope that the one issue, going to the student health clinic, won't be so bad. I have gotten very used to my overpriced doctors and I hope the Pepperdine doctors are comparable.

For incoming students, check it out:
http://services.pepperdine.edu/healthcenter/geninfo/insurance.htm#gsbminternational