Congratulations your baby has grown up and left for college. On one hand you're missing them dearly, on the other you're excited to "re-claim" their bedroom as your new sewing/workout/mancave space.
You've spent hours stressing over the Fasfa form, and how to pay for your required contribution, there's something you overlooked. HIPAA!
Yes, HIPAA, the Health Insurance & Portability Act of 1996. It has many facets but we as end users only run across it when dealing with personal medical privacy. In the past your child has been under your care and you've probably gone to any hospital visits with them, it's been a non issue.
Imagine this: 3:30am your phone rings. It's the campus hospital where your child is attending 5 hours drive from where you are. They're calling to verify your child's medical insurance information. You ask what this is regarding and they "can't tell you due to HIPAA regulations and patient confidentiality". You see your child is now the age of majority, aka, over 18. You ask, Can I speak to my child. No, I'm sorry he/she is incapacitated. At what point in the conversation does your mind jump into all of the bad things that could have happened as you throw some clothes on to make a 5 hour drive in a panic.
In the story I describe when he parents got to the hospital it was an emergency appendectomy, something not as worry-some. Had the parents had Health Care Powers of Attorney on their child they could have faxed it to the hospital and received the answers they needed much faster.
So, if you have a child going away to college who is over the age of 18, get your health care powers put in place before they go.
If you need a referral to an attorney please reach out to us and we'll get you in touch with one.
Philip A. Board CEO, MSFS, CFS