-- Health centers won't bill your medical insurance company. On-campus medical clinics pick up the cost of routine visits and procedures, but charge for extras such as X-rays. Such costs often are added to a student's school bill. If they're covered by your medical insurance, it's the student’s responsibility — or yours — to bill the insurance company to be reimbursed, writes Rafter.
-- Get their bills. Unless added as a designated payer on your child’s account, you won’t receive a copy of their bills. If you want copies of bills, ask your son or daughter to add you as a designated payer on their account, which they can do by signing a form online or at the campus finance office.
-- Get their grades. You may be paying the bills, but you don’t have a right to see their grades. So rectify this situation by having your child authorize the school to provide access to their grades. Some school administrators don’t like this idea, Rafter reports. “Putting students in charge of telling their parents about grades is one more step toward becoming responsible adults, they say.”
I don’t agree. In my opinion, they are full adults when they are paying all their expenses. If I’m paying, I should be privy to all the information about their bills and grades.
Here’s this week’s Color of Money Question: Do you think that parents who are paying for their child’s college expenses should have access to their bills and grades? Send your responses to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Be sure to include your full name, city and state. Put “College Checklist” in the subject line.
Text and Video Chat Today
If you can’t join me live me at 11:45 a.m. for my live video chat and my text chat at noon ET. I hope you watch the chat or read the archives later.
State Mortgage Assistance
In a recent online chat and an earlier e-letter, I mentioned Maryland’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance (EMA) program. To assist financially struggling homeowners, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through their Emergency Homeowner Loan Program.
The program was launched in conjunction with NeighborWorks America in June. It was designed to help homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure in 27 states across the country and Puerto Rico. The deadline to apply for fund through this program has passed. However, residents of Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland or Pennsylvania may still be able to get help. You’ll find information about this program at HUD’s website.
Loading...
Comments