Know your benefits

College student coverage

Oct 15, 2009 10:59 AM

Parents of a full-time student aged 19 to 23 must file proof of student status each year to preserve their child’s health benefits

You must file proof of student status each year to preserve your child’s health benefits. Your health insurance plan and the UFT Welfare Fund — which provides prescription drugs, eyeglasses, dental work and hearing aids — will continue to cover unmarried, full-time students from ages 19 to 23.

But during those years, it’s no longer automatic. You need to submit proof each and every year that your child is a full-time student.

Separate forms need to be filed with your health plan and the UFT Welfare Fund.

File forms prior to the 19th birthday

Prior to your child’s 19th birthday, you need to file dependent student certification forms with both your health insurance provider and the UFT Welfare Fund to ensure uninterrupted health coverage. (The UFT Welfare Fund will notify you by mail as your child’s 19th birthday approaches.)

A college official must fill out the bottom section of each form and affix the institution’s seal. Remember to include your own Social Security number or your health plan ID number on the health insurer’s form and your Social Security number or your UFT Welfare Fund ID number on the Welfare Fund’s form.

Parents may also go to their child’s college Web site. Many of these allow you to print out the student verification. This can be easily attached and sent with our completed form.

Your child’s health coverage will extend through the summer if you have submitted valid student certification for the fall and spring semesters, if your child has not graduated.

Call your health insurance provider to request its certification form. The UFT Welfare Fund’s Dependent Student Certification Form is available from your chapter leader, by calling the Welfare Fund’s Hotline at 1-212-539-0539, or by downloading it from Other Welfare Fund Forms, scroll down to Dependent Student Certification Form.

Remember that you must file these forms certifying your child is a full-time student not only when your child turns 19 but every year thereafter until your child reaches age 23.

Deadlines for renewing coverage

You should contact your health carrier to determine their deadlines, as different carriers may have different deadlines.

The UFT Welfare Fund requires that you file the form again each year by Oct. 31. If you miss the Fund’s deadline, don’t despair. Just submit the form immediately with acceptable proof of your child’s continuing full-time student status and the Welfare Fund will reinstate benefits.

In the year that your child turns 23, he or she will only receive health coverage until the end of that calendar year or until graduation, whichever is sooner.

You should immediately contact your health insurance provider and the UFT Welfare Fund if a child who is younger than age 23 is no longer a full-time student or gets married, because they become no longer eligible for benefits.