Question about Insurance?

pinkmist2010

I am still in school and under 24 which means my dad's family coverage insurance with BCBS still covers me. I wanted to get my own as well through my company, we have United Health Care and use one as primary and one as secondary. Truthfully though, the whole insurance world confuses me. Does it matter which one I list as primary? Or would it be better to just use one or does it even make a difference??

alauber

The Insurance that you have through your work will become your primary, and your dad's insurance will become your secondary... because your work insurance is in your name.

 

Make sense?

 

Good Luck

BOHara82

I would use the one that covers the most as primary. A secondary insurance is always good as there will be little to no out of pocket costs.

dccj

My thought is that it would be hard to get the secondary to pay for anything.  I think secondary insurance is typically used by elderly people to supplement their mediare coverage.  Compare which policy has better coverage, make sure they don't have a waiting period (if you switch) to cover maternity and take the best one. 

YachtRacer1977

Many company plans will cease to cover dependents, though, once a dependent is eligible for his/her own coverage through work - usually because you have to be a full-time student to be covered after a certain age (often age 19).

Meaning - if you aren't a student anymore and get a full-time job and get coverage through your company, your dad's company might no longer consider you a qualified dependent.

YachtRacer1977

I should note that - you did say you are a student, but you should make sure your dad's coverage will consider you a qualified dependent if you have your own coverage.  They might not.

mrsjazzsinger

I was dual-covered on both my parent's insurance for sometime - definitely not elderly or on medicaid.

BOHara82

When I ran a medical office many people had secondary ins's that were not over 65. I would call the company and make sure of you can be kept on. If not see which co offers more & covers more.

pinkmist2010

Alright thanks ladies. I plan on calling when I get in to work today to checkinto all these things ya'll brought up.

YachtRacer1977

Two parents can cover one child - that happens all the time, and the coordination of benefits usually goes by the birthday rule.

But having your own coverage through your company and being covered as a dependent on someone else's coverage is different.

dmogmo

I can't imagine your dad's insurance will still pay if you have your own.  That's usually a deal breaker for dependent insurance.

katiekate1974

Until recently, I had my own coverage and was covered by DH's plan. I had mine as primary and his was secondary. Most companies will require that any plan that is "yours" will be primary. But it really doesn't hurt to have 2 insurance plans if one is either free or low cost to you. My primary insurance company paid most things but the secondary picked up whatever was left. I never paid a co-pay. I could get 2 paps a year if I wanted. It really worked out well for me. Especially with IF treatment, which both plans covered.

You really should make sure you're still qualified under your parent's plan, though. Generally that coverage is avilable for students who don't have access to their own coverage.