The tuition arrangements are set up; the dorm room is assigned and your son or daughter is headed off to college in the fall. In all of the confusion of the paperwork, deadlines and financial arrangements did you remember to check on their health insurance?

Many, but not all, insurance companies provide for health insurance for college students under a family policy; do you know for sure that yours does?

With some insurance companies, coverage depends on whether or not the student is a full time student. Review your policy or ask your insurance administrator; if you have an HMO plan, will your student be covered if they go to the student healthcare facility away from home?

Check the age limit as well; you may find that once your son or daughter reaches a certain age they are dropped from the policy no matter what.

Ask your insurance company to provide an extra insurance card for your son or daughter to carry with them; if there is an additional card for prescription medications; make sure they have that too.

This preventative step will help eliminate confusion when they suddenly have to see a doctor.

There are student health care plans that are available through most colleges that are a reasonably priced alternative if your policy excludes your child.

Isn?t college confusing enough without having to worry about whether your child is covered should he or she need to seek medical attention? Take the time to look into health insurance before they head off to college in the fall.

Medicare is a governmental program which provides medical insurance coverage for retired persons over age 65 or for others who meet certain medical conditions, such as having a disability.

Medicare was signed into legislation in 1965 as an amendment to the Social Security program and is administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Department of Human Services.

Medicare provides medical insurance coverage for over 43 million Americans, many of whom would have no medical insurance. While not perfect, the Medicare program offers these millions of people relatively low cost basic insurance, but not much in the way of preventative care. For instance, Medicare does not pay for an annual physical, vision care or dental care.

Medicare is paid for through payroll tax deductions (FICA) equal to 2.9% of wages; the employee pays half and the employer pays half.

There are four ?parts? to Medicare: Part A is hospital coverage, Part B is medical insurance, Part C is supplemental coverage and Part D is prescription insurance. Parts C and D are at an added cost and are not required. Neither Part A nor B pays 100% of medical costs; there is usually a premium, co-pay and a deductible. Some low-income people quality for Medicaid, which assists in paying part of or all of the out-of-pocket costs.

Because more people are retiring and become eligible for Medicare at a faster rate than people are paying into the system, it has been predicted that the system will run out of money by 2018. Health care costs have risen dramatically, which adds to the financial woes of Medicare and the system has bee plagued by fraud over the years.

No one seems to have a viable solution to save this system that saves many people throughout the country.

Disability insurance policies are designed to pay part of your wages should you be injured in an accident or are unable to work because of illness. Here are two types of policies available: long-term disability and short-term disability.

Short term disability pays a portion of your wages should you be out of work due to injury for up to one year. Some employers pay for this benefit for their employees, some offer it for employees to purchase.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, the time to enroll is during the initial enrollment period when a medical exam is not required.

Replacement of wages is only partial; insurance underwriters, as well as your employer, want you back at work as soon as possible. Usually there is a waiting period of 14 days in which you will not receive payment.

Long term disability policies are purchased to replace what your potential earnings would be from the time you become disabled until age 65 when Medicare would be available.

For instance, if you are 55 and make %40,000 per year, you should purchase a policy for %400,000.

You cannot get a long term disability policy if

(1) you are or are soon to be pregnant,

(2) make less than %18,000 per year,

(3) are unemployed, or

(4) you are required to carry a weapon for your job.

Typically, the waiting period for long-term insurance to kick is at least 60 days and as much as a year.

Disability insurance is an important aspect of your overall insurance coverage plan, and if your employer offers it as a benefit you should definitely consider it as a wise investment.

The key to getting the most benefit from your health insurance policy is knowing your policy coverage.

Many people don’t actually read the policy for the policy plan book; they may not be aware that the policy may pay 100% of certain procedures, like annual physicals, mammograms, flu shots or certain labs tests.

The policy plan book will outline for you what procedures are not subject to the deductible or co-pay (your out-of-pocket expense).

Some insurance companies have shifted their emphasis from health insurance to health improvement and maintenance and will pay for the cost of gym membership, nutritional counseling or plans to stop smoking.

If you were trying to lose weight and knew that you could get these services at no cost, wouldn’t you take advantage of them?

If you wanted to quit smoking, wouldn’t it be beneficial to know that you could get the patch for free?

It is very wise to know what services are available to you through your insurance company, and you will only know if you take the time to read through your policy.

Health insurance is an expensive item; take advantage of every aspect of it that you can, not only for yourself but for the members of your family.

By taking full advantage of the free benefits of your health insurance policy, you will be healthier and possibly require fewer visits to your doctor.