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Saturday, September 19, 2009

So, I have been following the Lives of Doctor Wives blog for a while now! My husband is currently an engineer and will be applying to med school next year. The blog has really been a comfort to me (especially Survivor Saturdays!), as I am very nervous about leaving our comfortable lifestyle, uprooting from our family (more than likely) and just the logistics of the whole thing in general. I feel better because of the Doctor Wives blog. Who said people couldn't bless others through blogs?!

My question is this, how does health insurance work out during med school and residency? Is there a way to get insurance for our family through the medical school? Do doctors get insurance through their residency program once they are out of school? I am a teacher but don't plan on working (maybe just part-time if that) when we have children and plan to stay at home probably most of medical school and residency, so continuous coverage is not an option from my end.

Thanks, Katie

Labels: discussion question, healthcare

10 Comments:

Alexandra said...: I know that it is different for everyone but our experience was that we had to purchase our own insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield while we were in medical school, it wasn't cheap,(around $400 a month) but it was great to have.

Now that we are in residency, our insurance is provided by the program for a small rate (around $80) taken out of our paycheck. It has really lightened our budget and is nice to have.

I have heard of people going without insurance, people using government programs, and other options but this is what worked for us.; September 19, 2009 at 1:55 PM
Smash Attack Ash said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; September 19, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Smash Attack Ash said...: My husband graduated from Georgia Tech with a BS in Computer Engineering, worked in the industry for 5 years and then said "what the bloody hell am I doing? I want to work with people!" :)

He's in his 2nd yr of med school now, and I'm also getting my Masters in Social Work, so we get insured through school. It's expensive and the benefits are less than desirable - but what can you do?; September 19, 2009 at 2:54 PM
Jennifer said...: I worked during his medical school, but it was cheaper for him to carry insurance through his school and for me to carry mine through my job. During residency & fellowship (at the University of Iowa) all of our medical care was free. We never paid a dime and never got a bill. Very sweet deal. I think we visited every specialty during our four years there!

Welcome to the blog! So glad you are here.; September 19, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Christy said...: It depends on the program, but there should be insurance options through the med school. You will likely have to pay for them out of pocket, but you will be insured. Most med schools require their students to have some form of health insurance, even if it's only catastrophic coverage.; September 19, 2009 at 6:48 PM
Unknown said...: The school we were at the insurance was very expensive. We took out extra money with our school loans to cover health insurance because I did not work. That is an option. I know a lot of families (at the medical school we were at) applied for Title 19. If you are not working and your husband is going to school, according to Title 19 standards you would probably qualify.; September 19, 2009 at 9:22 PM
SeekerofGrace said...: My husband is in medical school. The insurance through the school is quite expensive, so he has a BCBS policy with a high deductible - it's about $80 a month for him. The baby was on the policy too (about $160 a month for both) until recently we realized he qualified for medicaid so we switched. I don't have insurance anymore since I'm not working full time. It would cost about $300 a month to add me to the policy since I'm of "child bearing age" even though the coverage wouldn't include maternity care... bizarre...; September 20, 2009 at 12:02 AM
Melisa said...: We did Medicaid for the kids during school. My husband is Native American, so he could go to their hospitals. I just didn't have any, except for when I was pregnant. For residency, we have insurance through the program. Good luck!; September 21, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Unknown said...: My husband is a MSIII and has insurance through the school. During his first two years, we both had plans through the school..him as a med student and me as a grad student. They offered family coverage too, but it was cheaper for us to have two separate student insurance plans. Now, I get my insurance through work and my husband still has the insurance offered by the school.; September 22, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Timani said...: Through our school the student insurance was $400/month for my husband and I. The kids would have been so much more and it was terrible insurance (NO preventative, NO pharmacy, could only be seen at the student health clinic unless an emergency. So for the kids we did the State's Children medical plan. I got preg during school and since pharmacy wasn't covered, I canceled my $300/mo student insurance and got medicaid because my meds were $3800/month.

Residency, insurance again. We share costs with the program. Pay $300/mo for us and our 8 kids...so worth it!; September 23, 2009 at 9:01 AM

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Saturday, September 19, 2009

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