Before my medical leave of absence, I had heard about the passing of Michelle’s Law. Named after a student who, for the sake of keeping her medical insurance, maintained full-time student status while battling colon cancer, this law requires that group insurance plans continue coverage of students who must take a medical leave of absence.
I was under the impression that this meant I would not lose my student insurance through Aetna. Unfortunately, Michelle’s Law apparently does not apply to student insurance plans… only to family plans.
Although the law helps those students who are still covered by their family insurance, it is of no assistance to the many students who have opted for the school-provided insurance option. These students are faced with the same dilemma as Michelle: they must maintain full-time student status, or lose their medical insurance coverage.
It still baffles me that a student can even lose medical insurance while on a medical leave of absence. Could there be any worse timing??
I’m glad Michelle’s Law passed, but it does not meet the needs of many of the students it was designed to help. Provisions must be made for students utilizing their school’s insurance provider to be able to retain coverage while on a medical leave of absence.
Under Michelle’s Law, I am losing my student insurance, but I can be covered through my mom’s insurance until I turn 20-something* in March. At that point, I can only hope that I’ll be back in school and eligible for student benefits again. If not, the options are grim. I, and others like me, need a Michelle’s Law for the rest of us.
As it is, it’s good, but it isn’t good enough.
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* Sorry, I’m not disclosing my age for security reasons. Different group insurance programs have different age limits for dependent students, so the point is just that I’m going to lose coverage again because I’m about to hit the age limit for my mom’s insurance company. Hence, older students are also not benefited by Michelle’s Law.
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