Coverage Calculator

Your campus plan
has a gap.

Adjust the fields below. The number on the right is what you're one diagnosis away from paying.

Your Profile

21
1825

The Numbers

Shield Monthly Premium

$27

per month, age 21 · campus plan holder

Fills your gap

Avg. Out-of-Pocket · Cancer Dx at 21

$38,500

after campus/family plan pays its portion — not covered by any plan you currently have

Not covered
Shield annual costvs. one diagnosis

Annual premium is 0.8% of your uncovered exposure

Compare Plans Side by Side →

* Average out-of-pocket figures based on 2024 IQVIA cancer treatment cost data for adults 18–26 with campus or basic family health coverage. Individual results vary.

01
Coverage Reality Check
What you have

Your Campus Health Plan

What the university health center actually covers — and where it stops.

Urgent care visit
$0 co-pay
Covered fully at student health center
Cancer chemotherapy
$15,000–$40,000 out-of-pocket
After plan maximum; most campus plans cap at $50K lifetime
Mental health hospitalization
Limited to 30 days/year
Excludes long-term psychiatric care
Bone marrow transplant
Not covered
Excluded in 91% of campus plan documents
What fills the gap

Shield Critical Illness

A lump-sum payout triggered by diagnosis — not by what the hospital decides to bill.

Urgent care visit
Not applicable
Shield activates on critical diagnosis, not routine care
Lump-sum payout on diagnosis
$25,000–$100,000
Paid directly to you within 72 hours of confirmed diagnosis
Coverage portability
Follows you after graduation
No re-enrollment required when you leave campus
Covered critical conditions
34 diagnoses
Including cancer, heart attack, stroke, organ failure

The campus plan was designed for strep throat and sprained ankles. It was never stress-tested against a $340,000 leukemia treatment protocol.

Compare Plans Side by Side →
02
The Parent Plan Problem
What you assume

Parent's Family Plan

Still on mom or dad's insurance? Here's what happens when the diagnosis isn't a routine hospital stay.

Coverage expiration
Age 26, hard cutoff
Zero exceptions; no extension for grad school or job gaps
Family plan deductible
$4,500–$8,000/year
Family deductible must be met before individual coverage kicks in
Out-of-network cancer center
40–60% cost-sharing
Top cancer centers (MD Anderson, Mayo) are often out-of-network
If parent loses job
Coverage ends in 30 days
COBRA costs $612/month average; mid-treatment disruption is catastrophic
What you actually need

Independent Shield Policy

A portable policy you own — not tied to a parent's employer, plan year, or annual renewal.

Coverage duration
Renews annually, no age cliff
Lock in your rate at 21; it doesn't reset when you graduate
Shield deductible
$0
Lump-sum paid on diagnosis — no deductible, no co-insurance
Payout restrictions
None — spend it anywhere
Experimental treatment, travel, rent, loan payments — your call
Policy ownership
You own it, always
Not tied to any employer, parent, or institution

Most parents don't realize their family plan's out-of-pocket maximum resets January 1st — right in the middle of your spring semester treatment cycle.

Compare Plans Side by Side →
03
The Diagnosis Math
Uncovered exposure

What Hits Your Account

The itemized gap between what your current plan pays and what a real diagnosis costs at age 22.

Average chemotherapy course
$28,000–$55,000
Oral chemotherapy often classified as outpatient — not covered by campus plan
Lost income / tuition gap
$12,000–$18,000
One semester medical withdrawal; most schools don't refund tuition after week 2
Specialist consultations
$2,400–$6,800
Oncology second opinions rarely covered at in-network rates for students
Total uncovered exposure
$38,000–$75,000
Conservative estimate; rare cancers can exceed $340,000 in year one
Your protection

What Shield Covers

A single lump-sum that lands in your account before the hospital billing department calls.

Cancer diagnosis payout
$50,000 lump sum
Wired to your account within 72 hours of pathology confirmation
Use of funds
Unrestricted
Pay tuition, cover rent, replace lost wages — no receipts required
Second opinion support
Included at no cost
Access to Shield's oncology navigator network for treatment guidance
Annual Shield premium, age 22
$276–$456/year
Less than 1.2% of your minimum uncovered exposure

The $276 annual premium isn't the price of peace of mind. It's the price of not calling your parents at 11pm to tell them you need $42,000 by next Thursday.

Compare Plans Side by Side →
COVERAGE GAPCAMPUS PLAN EXCLUSIONCRITICAL ILLNESSFINANCIAL PREPAREDNESSINDEPENDENT POLICYLUMP-SUM PAYOUTPORTABLE COVERAGEZERO DEDUCTIBLECOVERAGE GAPCAMPUS PLAN EXCLUSIONCRITICAL ILLNESSFINANCIAL PREPAREDNESSINDEPENDENT POLICYLUMP-SUM PAYOUTPORTABLE COVERAGEZERO DEDUCTIBLE
By the Numbers
$42,000+

Avg. out-of-pocket cancer cost, age 22

74%

Campus plans exclude critical illness

$18/mo

Starting Shield premium, age 18

26

Age limit on most parent plans

1 in 285

Cancer diagnosis odds before age 20

72 hrs

Avg. claim decision time with Shield

From Students Who Ran the Numbers

“I was on my mom's plan until I realized her deductible was $6,800. Shield costs me $23 a month. I ran the math three times before I believed it.”

Priya Nair
Senior, Finance · University of Michigan

“My roommate got diagnosed with leukemia junior year. His campus plan covered $4,200 of a $61,000 treatment bill. I signed up for Shield the same week.”

Marcus Webb
Recent Graduate · Ohio State University

“I'm 23 and aging off my dad's plan in April. Shield gave me a portable policy that follows me through grad school and my first job. It's the only number that made sense.”

Daniela Restrepo
Graduate Student, Public Health · Georgetown
Close the Gap

The number that finally
makes sense.

You've seen the gap. You've run the math. A Shield policy takes 4 minutes to set up and arrives before your next tuition payment.

$18/month to start

Lock in your rate at your current age. Every year you wait, the premium increases.

Lump-sum payout on diagnosis
34 covered critical conditions
$0 deductible, no co-insurance
Portable — yours through graduation and beyond
72-hour claim decision guarantee
Recalculate →
Compare Plans →