Many of these problems are lessened if parents' health care is covered by a plan or an HMO with a national network of providers. If a school is in an area served by a Prudential managed care plan, a student can get the same coverage at the same cost that he would have at home, says Pfister. If there is no network in the region, the student can call an 800 number and get authorization to find his own doctor. The student will be billed as if that doctor were part of the network, adds Pfister. The aim is to make the policy portable.
Portability is designed to deal with urgent situations . . .
But a guest membership only lasts six months, while the college year generally is longer. With the gaps in medical coverage of college students becoming more apparent, new organizations are being formed to meet that new health care need. It already manages health facilities on 15 campuses, and Prager would like to expand CHC from managing college health services to connecting them in such a way that they can become part of the networks of existing HMOs and managed care plans. It would allow an employer to pay part of a health insurance premium for a worker to the college health system instead of to the HMO or managed care plan that covers the rest of the family. This, however, would required federal legislation, and there are no such bills pending, says Montana State's Mitchell.