Health care reform for students

(FOX Providence) - After being a topic of discussion for many months, Congress passed the health care reform bill last week.

Peter Kerwin from RI Higher Education Assistance Authority joined The Rhode Show to discuss what the health care reform means for college students.

There’s been a lot of talk about the health care bill, but what does it mean for students?

Congress passed health care reform and the student financial aid changes in the same package, so a lot of the focus for young people was on the big changes in how student loans are going to be made. But the health care reform bill is going to have a big impact on young people as well.

Let’s start with the biggest provision. The one thing to keep in mind about this bill is that there are some provisions that kick in right away and others that are implemented by 2014. Right off the bat, there’s an expansion that allows young adults to remain covered under their parents health care plans until the age of 26. For undergraduates and graduate students who would have hit the age of 21 and no longer been covered, that is a huge lifeline. In this economy, we have a lot of young people who are either unemployed, freelancing or getting entry level jobs that no longer offer insurance. This is going to spare them the expense of buying costly health insurance when they need to be getting on track with loan repayments.

Also, by June 2010, the bill creates a temporary high risk pool to provide people with access to insurance if they were denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. Young people aged 18-34 account for 15% of Americans who suffer from those chronic conditions and were looking at the prospect of having no coverage.

What else can students expect as a result of the health care bill?

One concern going into this process was that the health care legislation initially seemed to eliminate any college and university based student health insurance plans. Those plans allowed students who were not covered through their parents plans to go to campus health centers when they got sick and to get their prescriptions covered. The American College Health Association (ACHA) pushed for language to protect those plans.

The bill also expands funding for the National Health Service Corps , which helps to encourage young doctors to work in areas of the country that are underserved when it comes to medical assistance. It also provides additional funds for the Title VII Health Professions Education program which offers scholarships and loan forgiveness to those in the allied health professions.

The bottom line is that for all the talk about the pros and cons in this bill, there are some key provisions which will have a positive impact for young people across the country.