And you thought college tuition was a rip-off?

InsureBlog's Bob Vineyard has quite a lot to say about student health insurance policies offered by Vanderbilt University and others, and not much of it is nice (Student Health Insurance Sucks).Having had two students in college already I knew that health insurance plans pushed by universities are usually inexpensive and fine until you really need them. If you are seriously injured or develop a severe illness you will be lucky if the student health insurance plan covers 30% of your medical bills.His complaints:

• Student is enrolled in a non-renewable, 1-year health plan. If their health status changes before year-end, e.g., they get seriously sick? Too bad.
• Vanderbilt will let you get your own insurance, as long as it meets a long list of criteria designed to make it impossible to do so
• Coverage cap of $100,000 won't do you much good if you get seriously sick or injured
• Vanderbilt is probably getting a sweet deal from the insurer to mandate the policy

There are alternatives for many students, including staying on their parents' plan if that's an option.