Child in College? The Importance of Health Care Power of Attorney

This is a great article from a blog post in the Boston Globe – see the entire article here or read below for a summary.

“If you have recently sent a son or daughter off to college, it is critically important that you have a signed Health Care Power of Attorney (HCPOA) in place. This document is important because once your child turns 18, they are legally recognized as an adult and the colleges they are attending generally cannot share medical information with you.

It is not that the colleges don’t want to share information, but under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a patient’s health information must be kept private once the patient is recognized as an adult. And this privacy extends to the parents of the student. So, if your child becomes ill at school, you might not be able to get any information on their health status.

GradGuard suggests that parents aim to have a HCPOA in place before school starts.    You can finds these forms through your attorney or thru websites such as LegalZoom. The Health Care Power of Attorney form is important, but so are the other risks facing your student.    In the case where you may need the HCPOA, you may also find yourself needing emergency medical evacuation insurance or be in at risk for losing the investment in that semesters education expenses.    GradGuard offers an affordable solution thru its Student Protection Plan, which includes not only tuition insurance but also emergency medical evacuation insurance.   Just like the HCPOA, the Student Protection Plan is something that every student and family will benefit from.