Computer fees. Registration fees. Instructional fees. Activities fees. Health insurance fees. (“What?!,” say personal finance gurus.)
Those sending their child to college for the first time are often inundated with mandatory extras tacked onto their student’s bill and are very seldom in the know that fees for mandatory health insurance are not required if the student is already covered under a parent’s policy, according to an article in USA Today featuring financial experts who learned the hard way: when they really took a look at their children’s bills.
Ninety percent of colleges automatically enroll students in student health insurance plans that can cost up to $4,000 annually, the newspaper reported, adding: “And here’s the thing: Many students don’t need it.”
Colleges often require students to carry comprehensive health insurance, according to the article, as student health insurance exists to cover those who arrive on campus without it. With experts calling campus health insurance “duplicative, costly and unnecessary,” many said that students can simply opt out online if they can prove coverage elsewhere.
