Rate shock has officially hit Millennials who are learning it’s a bit more difficult to find affordable health insurance than they bargained for.
According to New York’s CBS2, students attending community college through New Jersey are finding themselves in health care limbo. The low-cost, bare-bones plans once offered through the school are now deemed illegal, and for many, it’s either enroll in Obamacare’s exchanges or go without insurance.
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“I’m kind of healthy right now but I am worried that when something happens I’m not going to go to the hospital,” Carlos Arias, a community college student, told CBS2.
Before Obamacare went into affect, community colleges throughout the Garden State offered plans to students for as low as $100 per year. But now, federal law prohibits the institutions from offering such policies.
The school could have chosen to provide health insurance for students, but it came at a price — and a high one at that.
“More than a thousand dollars per student, and that is dramatically different,” Union Community College Vice President of Administrative Services Stephen Nacco said.
While some students are fortunate enough to receive coverage through their parents’ policies — until the age of 26 — the colleges are encouraging students to purchase insurance through the marketplace, which is proving to be quite the task.
“I got no answer so I left it for another day and the other day never came and I went to the dentist yesterday and I have to pay $2,000 out-of-pocket,” Carolina Mendonca, a community college student who called Healthcare.gov’s hotline, said.
Some schools are offering health insurance plans that are more expensive, but students are not required to purchase them.
