Worried about Health Insurance after Graduation?
If you don’t have a job with benefits lined up after graduation, you may be worried about your health insurance status, particularly if you have insurance through your school (or another situation that requires you to be a full-time student). Many schools are extending their insurance benefits for six months to a year after graduation to help tide students over while they find a job – you should check with your student health office. Another option is purchase health insurance through the ABA Law Student Division (which does have a $25 annual membership fee), which offers an extension of that coverage for a year past your law school graduation date. If you’re graduating this May, be aware that the deadline for enrollment to ensure continuous coverage is May 1, 2010.
Update: In order to extend coverage under the ABA student policy, you must attend 31 days of classes after you purchase the insurance – so if you’re planning on doing this make sure you will have at least a month of classes left before finals! The relevant language from the policy, under “Eligibility,” is this: “Students must actively attend classes for at least the first 31 days after the date for which coverage is purchased.”