As this website has previously mentioned, current students and individuals grappling with student loans often have limited disposable income. Since students do not have jobs, and people paying off student debt need to devote large sums of money each month to their loans, it might be difficult for these individuals to pay for a variety of life necessities. However, if you keep a few things in mind, paying medical costs as a student can be a lot easier.
As a student, the main medical cost I had to contend with each year was health insurance. For much of my time as a student, the federal government did not require people to purchase health insurance, since the Affordable Care Act had not yet been passed. However, some of the states where I was a student required everyone to purchase health insurance. In addition, every university I attended required students to have health insurance.
Nevertheless, paying medical costs as a student was a little easier, since all of the universities I attended offered student health insurance. The insurance was horrible and did not cover many medical expenses. In addition, the insurance had high deductibles and other barriers to receiving financial help with medical issues when the time came.
However, I did not think much about paying medical costs as a student. I was healthy and young while I was a student, and did not have any medical issues that would require me to go to a doctor for anything other than an annual checkup. As a result, the student health insurance sponsored by the universities I attended suited my needs.
Thinking back on it now, I only sought medical treatment twice as a student. The first time I went to the hospital, I had to get an object removed from the bottom of my foot that had gotten stuck there during track practice as a first-year in college (I know, I was an idiot!). I went to the emergency room, and they helped me out pretty quickly. I only had to pay a small fee for heading to the emergency room, and my health insurance paid for the rest of my expenses.
The second time I seriously dealt with paying medical costs as a student was when I was in law school. A bump showed up out of nowhere on my wrist, and I wanted it removed. I had to undergo a 20-minute surgery to have the bump removed, and this did not seem like such an involved procedure.
I was never told how much this procedure would cost before it occurred. I asked my brother (who has written articles for this website) how much he thought this surgery would cost, since he was in medical school, and he said it would likely only cost $2,000. However, to my horror, this small procedure ended up costing around $11,000. Insurance covered I believe 60 percent of the cost, and I was on the hook for the rest. This was around $5,000, and I received scary bills reflecting this figure.
Paying medical costs as a student was nerve-wracking for me for a number of reasons. I wanted to fully pay all of my bills so that I could continue to have good credit. I was nervous that if I was unable to pay any of my medical costs, it would be reported on my credit report, and that this would impact my ability to continue borrowing student loans.
I was also worried about paying medical costs as student because I did not have a job that could give me the resources to pay this expense. As a student, I simply had a small amount of money in my bank account for food and incidental expenses, and this money was mostly surplus from student loans I had borrowed. Even though I worked a few part-time jobs in law school, I was still worried that I did not have the resources to pay for my medical bills.
I ended up challenging my insurance company on some of the expenses they refused to pay, and they ended up covering more costs than they initially said they would cover. This required me to file some letters and supporting documents, but since I was preparing to be a lawyer at that time, I was pretty good at dealing with such paperwork.
In addition, my healthcare providers also gave me a break. After several months of back and forth, my healthcare providers just decided to take what the insurance company paid and wrote off most of the rest. I learned that it is common for healthcare providers to charge insurance companies high fees with the expectation that they will be paid a fraction of the cost and then write off the rest.
I ended up having to pay a few thousand dollars of the medical expenses myself. However, I worked as a summer associate at a firm the summer after I had this procedure, and my salary easily covered this expense. Throughout this process, I never really risked negatively affecting my credit, since I was able to reduce the amount of money I owed out-of-pocket.
In the end, paying medical costs as a student is extremely scary, and it is oftentimes difficult for students to pay for large medical expenses. However, if you work with your insurance company and healthcare providers, it can be easier to pay off medical expenses as a student.