THHS announces a new health care coverage assistance program for college bound students

By Stacey Kiehn, Public Information Officer

Tribal Health is pleased to announce a newly implemented health care coverage opportunity for Contract Health Service (CHS) eligible beneficiaries, who are or will be fulltime college students. This program is made available to those students who are deemed to be CHS eligible and attending school outside the CSKT Contract Health Service Area (CHSDA). Students attending a school in any of the four counties (Missoula, Lake, Sanders or Flathead) formerly known as the CHSDA, are not eligible for this program. The Indian Health Service and CHS have contracts in place with local providers to meet the needs of those eligible students within the four counties. To inquire about CHS availability or the location of local providers, you may call Spina Grant, CHS Coordinator for the Indian Health Service at 745-3525, ext. 5053.

Tribal Health has put into place a program designed to simplify college student health care needs. At present, most colleges within the United States offer some form of health coverage for a fee. Typically students choose to go without coverage. Tribal Health is now in a position to assist with this expenditure for students who choose to purchase the health care coverage from their higher educational institution.

Each CHS eligible student interested in participating must complete the formal application and review process. An important requirement of this application process, aside from CHS eligibility, is that all students must be attending an accredited institution of higher learning and provide verification demonstrating full-time student status prior to leaving. This verification can be in the form of a letter of acceptance or transcripts from a previous term. Additionally they must have current information on file with Tribal Health Patient Registration.

The end of summer is nearing and time is of the essence. Should you or someone you know have any questions regarding a college bound student’s qualification to apply for the Health Care Coverage Assistance program, act immediately and contact Diane Matt, Beneficiary Alternate Resource Coordinator at 745-3525, ext. 5027 or dmatt@thhs.cskt.org; or contact Ellen Bigsam, Beneficiary Alternate Resource Specialist at 745-3525, ext. 5121 or ebigsam@thhs.cskt.org.

Tribal Health would like to congratulate the upcoming college bound students and wish them the best of luck in this coming school year!