Student insurance: more hassle than help

bought many Apple products and I will say that I seriously enjoy taking apart the packing contents of a new iPhone, or when I unboxed my MacBook Pro for the first time, I really liked how simple and uncomplicated the product was placed in the box.

And now that I think of it, that explains why Apple is so popular and why the media covers the technology company so much; it is because simple and uncomplicated is one of Apple’s approaches to their products. The words ‘simple and uncomplicated’ explain all of the actual reasons why many people like to buy and own Apple products.

I have my own belief; products made by Apple just work.

jfc46@cabrini edu

By Michelle Costa Managing Editor

Today we learn of health care issues that personally affect homes around the world every single day. In the classroom, topics often focus on developing countries and the hardships of sustaining just resources. I find that learning of these situations hits a nerve in my body that is hard to explain. I want to help understand and speak on behalf of these countries, but how can I possibly do so when my own family is being subjected to the lack of health insurance? I feel as though many students do not comprehend the complexity of what it means to be uninsured and essentially pay out of pocket.

Coming from a hard-working, comfortable middle-class family, does not override the pressures and complications of being a child with self-employed parents. Being self-employed does not offer the benefits that larger and corporate companies would offer to families.

The financial expectations to cover a family are simply unacceptable and reach over a couple thousand each month for the most minimal coverage.

Cabrini College mandates each student to have health insurance in order to be considered a student. Cost wise my family and I felt as though purchasing my health insurance through the school would be more beneficial financially. Boy, we were so wrong.

Now on the plan for my second year, with not much of an alternate outlet, we owe more money than ever imagined. It feels as though the little card that I hold in my wallet, entitled Devon Medical, covers no more than me simply opening the door of a doctors office. Especially being a resident of Mon- mouth County, N.J., the insurance does not accept any of my primary physicians.

I have a hard time understanding why a school would provide a service that is so inconvenient and stressful on families. Medical fees on top of the $1,000 for each semester, seems inconceivable and ultimately frustrating. Health care reform is the obvious answer. We need a more accessible way for students to get their hands on credible and effective coverage.

I see the medical bills pile up with large past-due balances. I spend hours with the so-called customer service representatives who share more advice through whimsical hold music than information and guidelines. College insurance may as well not even exist. It is hard to believe that something so necessary to students’ lives has become a chaotic mess, not serving the proper medical needs.

I wish there was another way for students like myself to hold respectable health insurance that would eliminate family stress and high outstanding past-due balances. Things need to be changed, that’s the bottom line. The health systems at colleges need to come to their senses and provide positive and functional plans.