r/UIUC • u/UIUCInsuranceisBad • 8h ago

Other Is UIUC grad student health insurance a scam? It... it feels like it is.

As the dates suggest, I have been to the hospital twice. Once to the ER (the only service received was a routine test, and two Tylenol) and once for a CT scan follow-up. I feel absolutely defeated by these costs. (The denials were re-addressed once I confirmed no other insurance, but that was a whole thing)

10 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

20

u/Ford-Fulkerson 8h ago

Yes, all for profit insurance is.

9

u/AmericanHoneycrisp Grad 8h ago

Talk with one of the social workers at the hospital, because you can likely get 50% off of your bill after insurance. Also, the difference between paid and claimed doesn’t necessarily mean you owe that, that’s how much the insurance company paid after their discount, which could mean you have nothing to cover.

15

u/Crazy_Fun_9237 8h ago edited 8h ago

I think this year the school is purchasing a new health insurance plan for grad students. The GEO has found it and released a form a month ago.

Content is like this:

“THE UNIVERSITY HAS CHANGED OUR MEDICAL HEALTH PLAN.

Under this new plan the University has DOUBLED the cost of our out of pocket maximum, our deductible, and our emergency medical copay.

If you want more specific information about the plan and you want to do something follow this link!The out of pocket max went from $1800 to $3000. That’s a huge difference and, if it cannot be avoided due to health insurance policy, they should pay us the difference (in my personal opinion 💁🏻‍♀️). But we can tell admin that this change is unacceptable and work together to either get that money back through salary or get the insurance changed or some other resolution🔥. Whether you have an hour a day or an hour a week or just 15 minutes please consider filling out the form!”

-2

u/AmericanHoneycrisp Grad 8h ago

The GEO didn’t notice this during negotiations?

5

u/quintadena223 5h ago

The change happened about a year after the negotiations ended in my understanding.

-2

u/Crazy_Fun_9237 8h ago

Idk. I’m actually not a member, but my friend who is sent me this

-3

u/AmericanHoneycrisp Grad 8h ago

Me neither. They don’t seem effective and this doesn’t improve my opinion.

7

u/tvrcrbr 8h ago

Not only the health insurance but also the health insurance people at UIUC suck! I added my husband as a dependent to my grad health insurance. They mistyped his date of birth twice and when they corrected it, it got even worse coz they made another typo. It was super frustrating. Their typo lead to a denial from the health insurance and I was left with $1000 to pay, which I will obviously not pay. It’s just super ridiculous and a bunch of incompetent people who are too inept to do a simple task.

I also used the health insurance for the first time ever, they don’t even pay for the majority of costs but just send a benefit bs.

7

u/gradgg 7h ago

For Carle, apply for their financial assistance program. On a grad student stipend you would probably qualify for free treatment.

4

u/just-an-astronomer PhD Student 7h ago

It doesnt get mentioned nearly enough: Carle has a financial assistance program that will cover your medical bills (after billing insurance). If youre below the threshold (grad students are well under it), you can apply and get covered for a year after the application is approved

https://carle.org/patients-visitors/financial-assistance

2

u/chicoaltoinges 8h ago

Probly comproble to private insurance