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New law allows college students to take leave, stay on parents' health insurance in event of serious illness
By Fred Hintz
Posted: 10/19/09, 3:02 AM EST Section: News
Michelle Morse was a student at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire when she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004. Doctors ordered Morse to take a leave of absence from school for rest and treatment. But Morse couldn't afford it.
Under federal law, Morse could only qualify for her parent's insurance coverage if she remained a full-time student, the Associated Press reported. So she stayed in school while undergoing chemotherapy. Morse graduated with honors and died in 2005. She was 22.
Her mother, AnnMarie Morse, has advocated for the passage of a law to reform health insurance for college students since her daughter's death. On Oct. 9, the law finally became a reality.
A federal law went into effect that prevents college students from losing their parents' health insurance in the event of a serious medical problem. Michelle's Law allows one year of coverage on a parent's insurance plan if a student goes on medical leave for a serious illness.
Prior to Michelle's Law, college students could only stay under their parents' health care plan if they took the minimum amount of credits to qualify as a full-time student.
Last year, the American Cancer Society estimated that this law would help 2,400 college students who would be diagnosed with cancer this year, said Keysha Brooks-Coley, associate director of federal relations at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
The law will affect many Syracuse University students who are dependent on parents' health insurance, said Thomas Palmer, Vice President of the Collegiate Student Department at Haylor, Freyer and Coon, Inc., an insurance agency.
"Seventy-five percent of SU's population is probably dependent on mom or dad," Palmer said. "If those 75 percent of your student base becomes medically restricted or have to go to part-time status, they won't be able to pay for it themselves."
Before Michelle's Law, the only health insurance option for students on medical leave was the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), designed for students and children who are ineligible for their parents' health care coverage, Palmer said.
Under COBRA, a student pays the same price for an insurance plan as they would if he or she were an employee of their parents' company. Often times this is unaffordable.
"You cover the whole cost that an employee would pay," Palmer said. "That's about $400 a month."
It is not uncommon for SU students to have health insurance outside of their parents' plans. Seven hundred domestic students and 800 international students have purchased health insurance through Haylor, Freyer and Coon's student insurance plans, Palmer said.
Morse's mother made a statement at a press conference the day the bill passed, describing its passage as a day of mixed emotions. She said it's the first step in a longer battle for health care reform in her daughter's memory.
fahintz@syr.edu
Under federal law, Morse could only qualify for her parent's insurance coverage if she remained a full-time student, the Associated Press reported. So she stayed in school while undergoing chemotherapy. Morse graduated with honors and died in 2005. She was 22.
Her mother, AnnMarie Morse, has advocated for the passage of a law to reform health insurance for college students since her daughter's death. On Oct. 9, the law finally became a reality.
A federal law went into effect that prevents college students from losing their parents' health insurance in the event of a serious medical problem. Michelle's Law allows one year of coverage on a parent's insurance plan if a student goes on medical leave for a serious illness.
Prior to Michelle's Law, college students could only stay under their parents' health care plan if they took the minimum amount of credits to qualify as a full-time student.
Last year, the American Cancer Society estimated that this law would help 2,400 college students who would be diagnosed with cancer this year, said Keysha Brooks-Coley, associate director of federal relations at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
The law will affect many Syracuse University students who are dependent on parents' health insurance, said Thomas Palmer, Vice President of the Collegiate Student Department at Haylor, Freyer and Coon, Inc., an insurance agency.
"Seventy-five percent of SU's population is probably dependent on mom or dad," Palmer said. "If those 75 percent of your student base becomes medically restricted or have to go to part-time status, they won't be able to pay for it themselves."
Before Michelle's Law, the only health insurance option for students on medical leave was the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), designed for students and children who are ineligible for their parents' health care coverage, Palmer said.
Under COBRA, a student pays the same price for an insurance plan as they would if he or she were an employee of their parents' company. Often times this is unaffordable.
"You cover the whole cost that an employee would pay," Palmer said. "That's about $400 a month."
It is not uncommon for SU students to have health insurance outside of their parents' plans. Seven hundred domestic students and 800 international students have purchased health insurance through Haylor, Freyer and Coon's student insurance plans, Palmer said.
Morse's mother made a statement at a press conference the day the bill passed, describing its passage as a day of mixed emotions. She said it's the first step in a longer battle for health care reform in her daughter's memory.
fahintz@syr.edu
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