Last week, we spoke with professor of finance Neil Cohen about applying for a credit card. This issue, Leonard Friedman, professor in the health services management and leadership department, tells students how to obtain health insurance that is both complete and won’t break the bank.

<strong<Obtain health insurance through your employer

The costs of getting insurance through your employer are significantly lower and the benefits are generally much better dollar-for-dollar than any coverage that you might obtain trying to purchase insurance in the commercial insurance market, Friedman says.

Decide what you can afford

Generally, if an employer offers coverage, a limited number of insurance options are available. Students can either sign up for a low-cost plan with high co-payments and a high deductible, or a more expensive plan with lower co-payments and deductibles.

Freidman suggests that for most students who are in good health and are simply covering themselves at this point, a lower-cost plan with high co-payments and deductibles will usually suffice.

Students who have never shopped for insurance may not know what co-payments or deductibles are, so Friedman offers a small vocabulary lesson. A co-payment is the preset amount paid at the instance of a medical service or when receiving medication. Health insurance companies are responsible for establishing these fees; they are generally printed on the health insurance card.

A deductible is a fixed amount of money one must pay before most of the policy’s benefits can be put into effect. In many coverage plans, one can use some services – such as visiting the emergency room or a routine doctor’s visit – without meeting the deductible. The amount of the deductible is calculated annually.

Avoid buying health care on the open market

Friedman says that buying health care on the open market without the benefits of an employer-sponsored plan can be a “rude awakening.” Since most students have been covered on their parents’ health insurance plan or an insurance plan sponsored by the University and Student Health Services, this matter is truly one of “buyer beware.”