College Students are Health Care’s Invisible Minority: Close to 5 million students don’t have health insurance, report says.
Susana Sagastizado, a senior at the University of Maryland, started coughing today. Her nose is running a bit and she feels an ill warmth on her forehead — all bad signs, she said since she doesn’t have health insurance.
Luckily, the university’s health center provides care at a reasonable price, so Sagastizado can be seen and pay for a flu shot using her part-time income. But if she does have the flu, joining the more than 600 suspected cases at Maryland, it gets worse. The 21-year-old’s good fortune could end.
“I worry about it a lot, it’s always in the back of my head,” Sagastizado said about not having insurance. Her parents can’t afford to have her and her two brothers on their insurance without losing their home. “I feel anxious especially when I’m sick. You always think of the worst-case scenario that you might have to go to an emergency room.”"
