Student has Medicaid, does not need school’s plan

Should I enroll in student health insurance if I have MassHealth?

Ramen Noodles Nosher

Dear Ramen Noodles Nosher,

If you have MassHealth (which is Massachusetts Medicaid program), you do not need additional health insurance from your school. You could still choose to buy the student insurance and you would get its benefits. One advantage might be a wider selection of doctors, since some doctors do not accept Medicaid patients.

Your student plan would pay first and Medicaid second. So, if the student plan had a deductible or a higher co-pay than Medicaid, Medicaid would pay the difference. This is called coordination of benefits or sometimes “third party liability”.

That said, you are adequately insured by having Medicaid alone.

Linda Riddell

About Linda Riddell

A published author and health policy analyst with 25 years’ experience, Linda Riddell's goal is to alleviate the widespread ailment of not knowing what your health plan can do for you.