If you are looking for affordable insurance and are confused, then you need to educate yourself in order to know what you can afford.

Firstly, you need to familiarize yourself with your state’s laws regarding health insurance. You could be eligible for government assistance, so you should check to see what you may qualify for. There are sources online to help you find out what your options are. You can also contact the insurance company directly or through a broker.

Getting a handle on premiums and deductibles is the easy part. These are usually given to you out right, however reading the details of the insurance policy will give you a lot more information about what type of coverage you are actually getting. Look for things like coverage exceptions, riders that nullify coverage, and watch those pre-existing condition clauses. They may completely nullify any coverage for anything having to do with the pre-existing condition you had before. Be sure to read the fine print and ask questions if you need clarification on a particular issue.

Once you’ve laid out the options, you have to decide what you can afford and what you are willing to pay for. Low monthly premiums tend to come with higher deductibles (the amount you pay for treatment before the insurance kicks in) or co-payments to doctors and hospitals. Compare your options. Sometimes paying a lower premium for a higher deductible will leave you paying more money to the doctor’s in the end.

Fill out the application carefully. If you make even a small mistake, it can void the whole policy. Insurance companies have people who look for mistakes. This keeps their costs down and revenue up.

You are not the only parent concerned with the issue of health insurance for your college student. Andrew Cuomo, NY Attorney General, is scrutinizing the deals between universities and insurance providers.

Specifically, Cuomo would like to end universities mandating that students buy certain health plans in order to get in. This is generally targeted to those that are getting monetary incentives in return for doing so.

Although most students have health benefits through their parents, some university health care facilities will not accept the parent’s health plan. A New York Times article reports this.

Alternatively, they accept only the universities preferred coverage. President of College Parents of America, James A. Boyle states, “[Offending] campus health centers do not accept [their parents' coverage] as payment for service. Instead, some schools force the student, as a condition of enrollment, to purchase health insurance policies offered by the school.”

Cuomo has repeatedly asked some of New York universities to keep track of their interactions with health insurance companies. One of Cuomo’s assistants said,”With students and their families being financially squeezed at every turn, colleges must ensure that they are looking out for students’ best interest first and foremost as opposed to their own financial bottom line.