A new law, which took effect last Friday, is allowing U.S. college students to take up to one year away from school for medical reasons while remaining on their family’s health insurance plan. “Michelle’s Law” is named after college student Michelle Morse who decided to remain a full time student, against the recommendation of her doctors, while undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer because she could not afford to be dropped from her parents’ health insurance policy. Previously, students between the ages of 19-24 could continue their health coverage under their parent’s policy as long as they remained as a full-time student (12 credits). If they became too ill to continue as a full time student they would either lose their insurance or could continue their coverage under the C.O.B.R.A. portion of the parent’s policy for an additional premium. By law C.O.B.R.A. can be as much as 102% of the premium for up to 36 months; many families cannot afford this expense. Michelle Morse was an aspiring teacher who died six months after she graduated from college at the age of 22. [via Businessweek]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.