STRICTLY BUSINESS: HEALTH INSURANCE SHOULD BE PART OF PLANNING FOR GRADUATE'S FUTURE

At last, it's here. The finals completed, and it's graduation time.

Students who have spent the past 17 years -- counting kindergarten -- in school are preparing to enter the "real world."

For many, more school looms as students look to classes for master's and Ph.D work. For some, the clock is ticking off the hours until they say, "I do," in June, and for others, now is the time to travel.

But, for all, it is time to look into health insurance.

In the midst of planning for the future, it is important to keep in mind one vital question, how to pay for the high cost of health care.

Let's face it. Nobody plans to get sick. But, illnesses and accidents do happen, and the cost of health care is even more expensive than insurance. Health Insurance is not a choice these days...it is a necessity.

Without health insurance, a hospital or doctor bill could easily wipe out a paycheck or a small nest egg faster than you can say "higher education."

Graduates usually have three options for health insurance coverage after leaving school, says Sarah Stoffel, manager of consumer affairs for the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA).

Stoffel says graduates and soon-to-be graduates should give serious thoughts to making sure they have health insurance coverage.

Among the options:

-- They can continue coverage under a parent's employee-sponsored plan under "COBRA, a federal law that requires most employers to allow certain individuals -- referred to as "qualified beneficiaries" (QBs) -- to continue group coverage that normally would be lost due to certain qualifying events, such as graduation or attaining adult age.

If a student is a dependent under a parent's health insurance plan, he may be entitled to 36 more months of coverage after a qualifying event. The definition of the qualifying event will vary from plan to plan, so it is important for students and their parents to talk with the employer's benefits manager.

Two other points about COBRA: The premium is 102 percent, meaning the student or the parent must pay the entire cost of coverage plus a 2 percent administrative fee. (The parent's employer would not kick in to help pay the premium). Also, federal employees and employees of businesses with fewer than 20 employees are not subject to COBRA.

-- If COBRA coverage is too expensive, and if the graduating student is not yet working, or is working for an employer who doesn't provide health insurance, option two may be to buy an individual short-term policy.

Short-term health insurance is a good "stopgap" to fill the void before landing a job with health coverage or before purchasing a policy for more lasting coverage.

Generally, short-term policies last from a few months, or up to a year, depending on the plan. Some can be reissued or renewed. Most short-term policies, however, have a waiting period for coverage for pre-existing conditions, so it is important to review the contract language.

-- Option three is to buy more permanent individual health insurance coverage, which is renewable, provided you continue to pay the premium and the coverage is "profitable," meaning that you continue to be covered no matter where you live or whom you work for.

Individual coverage can be tailored to meet your needs, which means that you can design your own benefits package to contain deductibles and co-payment schedules that best meet your budget. Co-payments are the percentage of your health care bill that you pay. Typically, the insurer pays 80 percent of the bill and policyholder pays 20 percent.

Perhaps the best way to shop around for individual health insurance coverage is to contact an agent or broker.

Costs will vary, depending upon the types of benefits you select, and the cost of health care in your area.

Students seeking information about insurance shopping, or about COBRA, can call the National Insurance Consumer Helpline (NICH), 1-800-942-4242, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. Or, for more information concerning COBRA, they can contact their parent's employer's benefits manager or a benefits consultant.

20th anniversary year

When Janice Hill was in high school, she and her sisters sold salesmen's samples of clothing to their friends.

Their father, Hartford Hill, was a manufacturer's representative in the apparel business and provided his daughters with the sales samples.

When Janice Hill started thinking about a career while in college, she decided to continue in the sale of apparel.

That was 20 years ago.

Hartford's Apparel Inc. has been selling clothing since.

Hartford's business was started during the summer of 1975, said Hartford Hill, who is president of the company today.

Hill, who was an "on-the-road" clothing salesmen for 20 years, his wife and daughter opened Hartford's in a 1,000-square-foot building on North West End Boulevard, on a part-time, three-day-a-week basis.

"This didn't last long," Hill said. "We needed more room."

When more space became available in a vacated grocery store at 2121 William, the company moved to new quarters. With the addition of Hartford's Children's Too and Hartford's Plus, the retail store was soon operating in 10,000 square feet of space, and Hartford came off the road to join the everyday operations of Hartford's Apparel Inc.

Hartford moved to only its third site, a 10,000-square-foot structure on Broadview, in 1989. The company today employs about 15 people.

"The location here has been good for us," Hill said.

The business is still a family business.

Hill's wife, Kathleen, is secretary-treasurer; Janice Hill is vice president; and another daughter, Jeanne Shrum, is store manager.

Members of the family serve as the buying staff for the store, and "go to market" several times each year, visiting markets in Dallas, Kansas City, St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn.

The store also continues to present its new fashions at two annual fashion shows, held in April and November each year at the Holiday Inn.

New on business scene

The Tsidkenu Martial Arts Club has opened at Jackson.

Owner and instructor at the school, in the Sweat Shop, is Michael Hester, He has more than a dozen years in martial arts and has a black belt.

"Street Self Defense" will be the primary subject at the school.

"We'll be teaching how to use the whole body as a weapon," said Hester, who has been an assistant instructor three years, and will continue as an assistant instructor under Stass Huff, at Universal Physique Fitness and Racquet Center in Cape Girardeau.

Hester's classes at the Sweat Shop will be conducted for adults Monday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Wednesday, 6 to 8 p.m. Classes for children will be held Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The Riverport Trade Center will open in downtown Cape Girardeau Tuesday.

The new retail center that stretches from 5 N. Main to 5. N. Spanish will feature a number of items.

"We have six rooms of merchandise," said Betty Moore, owner of the trade center, which will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Merchandise includes silk flowers, work clothing and uniforms, tools, furniture, various martial arts equipment, incense, lace and a number of collectible items.

Moore was owner-operator of the Poplar Bluff Trade Center for six years.

Target Stores, the discount retail division of Dayton Hudson Corp., is making plans for opening the Cape Girardeau operation.

The store, in the Cape West Business Park alongside Interstate 55, will open July 19. A fireworks display will be presented July 22, and grand opening ceremonies will be held July 23.

"We're looking forward to our new operation in Cape Girardeau," store manager Doug Rowe said.

"This is my first store opening," said Rowe, who has been with Target 14 years. Rowe was previously an assistant manager at the Target Store in Belleville, Ill.

Hastings Books, Music & Video will open a 22,000-square-foot store here May 29.

Hastings, headquartered in Amarillo, Texas, will move into newly renovated quarters in the Town Plaza Shopping Center in space that previously housed Plaza Gift and Office Supply.

Deborah Jung will be store manager.

The company offers a wide selection of books, music, greeting cards, posters and videos for rent and sale, said Jung, who previously managed a Hastings store at Benton, Ark.