UC Student Medical Insurance Limits

From the Contra Costa Times:

UC Santa Cruz graduate student Micha Rahder suffers from a rare disorder that requires her to be hooked up to an IV over two days, five to eight hours at a time, every four weeks… In November, she got a letter from the university saying she had used $378,000 of the $400,000 lifetime limit for students on the University of California student health insurance plan (also known as UC SHIP), Radner said. In early January, a little more three years after her first treatment, she received another letter. “It comes from the Office of the President of the University of California and it says, ‘You’ve reached your lifetime maximum benefit. You’re no longer covered under the student insurance plan. Please be advised that all students at the UCs are required to have health insurance in order to be enrolled.’ And that’s all it says. That’s the last line,” said Rahder, who is studying for her doctoral degree in anthropology. 

Many students on the UC student health insurance plan don’t know there is a $10,000 a year cap on annual prescriptions and a $400,000 lifetime limit on all medical benefits…

Full story at http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22453646/health-care-limits-leave-some-students-few-options