If you have a chronic condition, insurers can’t refuse to cover you or charge you more – starting in 2014.  Until then, check out the other options for coverage in this section. WARNING:  Don’t go without health coverage for more...

Statewide insurance exchanges offering more options that resemble Expedia for health insurance. These competitive online marketplaces start in 2014. Mississippians will be eligible to purchase health insurance from the federal exchange. Help with premiums: Get tax credits to help pay...

Dependent Coverage to 26:  You can stay on a parent’s insurance until age 26. New Rights and Protections: New plans must give free preventive care without co-pays or coinsurance. Plans also can’t drop you if you have high medical costs,...

Four-year schools are more likely to offer SHIPs than two-year schools. If you’re going to a community college, you may have to look outside of school for coverage. For more information call Health Help Mississippi at 1-877-314-3843

Medicaid qualifies as coverage at most schools that require students to have health insurance. Check with your school’s health insurance office to be sure, and make sure that you have access to doctors who accept Medicaid nearby. For more information...

Starting in Fall 2012, new rules took effect: No discrimination against students under age 19 based on pre-existing conditions; Health plans will not be allowed to drop coverage after you get sick; The elimination of lifetime benefit caps and the...

Note: Some schools may require you to actively opt-out (“waive out”) of a SHIP by filling out a form. The quality of student health plans can vary. Check out the details: read the rules about benefits, limits and caps, pre-existing...

Many colleges require you to have health insurance. More than half of colleges offer a Student Health Insurance Plan (“SHIP”). Many students purchase these plans, but there are other alternatives that may be available like: Staying on your parent’s coverage,...

Have your parent contact a plan administrator to ask about getting you covered. If your parent has insurance through a job, the best person is usually in the Human Resources department. You or your parent will need to fill out...

Many plans have  “open-enrollment” before the New Year, and start coverage on January 1st. If you do not sign up then, you normally have to wait until the next year, unless you have a “qualifying event” that lets you enroll...