Waiving your school's health plan

If your school enrolls students in its health plan automatically, you can usually ask to waive it by showing other coverage. The sections below cover how waivers work so you can finish one on time.

How automatic enrollment works

Many schools require every student, or every student above a certain credit load, to have health insurance. These schools add the student plan and its charge to your account unless you submit a waiver by a set deadline.

Waivers usually have to be filed each academic year, and sometimes each term. A waiver you filed last year may not carry over, so check the school's insurance page every fall.

What schools look for

Schools set their own waiver standards. Common checks include whether the other plan is active for the whole term, whether it meets federal coverage rules, and whether it has in-network doctors and hospitals near campus.

A parent's plan with a network far from school, a short-term plan, or Medicaid from another state may fall short of the school's rules. Read the criteria before you submit, and ask the insurance office if your plan is close to the line.

Have these ready

• Your insurance card, front and back
• The waiver deadline for this year
• Proof the plan runs through the full term
• A list of in-network providers near campus

Filing the waiver

Most schools take waivers through an online form run by the school or its insurance administrator. You will usually need the insurer's name, the member ID, the group number and the name of the policyholder.

Some forms ask you to upload both sides of your insurance card. Save the confirmation page or email when you finish, because it is your record that the waiver went in on time.

If you miss the deadline

A missed deadline usually leaves the plan and its charge in place for the term. Some schools hear late requests in limited cases, such as a coverage start date that fell after the deadline.

If your other coverage ends during the year, the school plan may let you join at that point. Ask the insurance office how mid-year enrollment works before you drop any plan.