Insurance Matters
Student Health Insurance
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that all students enrolled in a degree or certificate program at UMass Chan Medical School carry comprehensive and continuous health insurance coverage for hospitalization, emergencies, outpatient specialty care and diagnostic testing. UMass Chan offers a Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) with Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BC/BS) as the insurance carrier and University Health Plans (UHP) as the insurance administrator. Plan information can be found on the UHP website.
Students have the option to either enroll and purchase the BC/BS student plan or carry a comparable health insurance plan of their choice. (Note: SHIP-enrolled students at Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences: plan premium is paid by the school).
Enroll/Waiver Process
1. Annual enroll/waiver during open enrollment period
Students are sent an email each year around late June/early July which includes the health insurance information, requirements, and online enroll/waiver instructions for the new policy year.
Open enrollment period runs till the end of August each year. EVERY student MUST complete online either an enrollment form or a waive form during the open enrollment period of EVERY policy year via the UHP website.
Open enrollment period is the only time students can enroll in the annual coverage of the SHIP and is the only time to waive the student health insurance requirement with their own plan.
For each policy year, the SHIP may offer three annual coverage periods:
- 12 months (9/1/year-8/31/year+1, for all returning students and year 1 students starting in September)
- 13 months (8/1/year-8/31/year+1, for year 1 students starting in August)
- 14 months (7/1/year-8/31/year+1, for year 1 students starting in July).
The annual premium is assessed on every student's fall semester bill but a student is NOT enrolled in the SHIP until they complete the enrollment process on the UHP website. If a student completes the waiver process on the UHP website, the SHIP premium is then cancelled from their student account.
2. Enrollment during the academic year after open enrollment period ends
Students are mandated to carry adequate health insurance without lapse of coverage. Students can contact the Bursar's Office to request enrollment in the student health insurance plan due to two situations:
- When returning from Leave of Absence and in need of health insurance. This Health Insurance Enroll Waiver Card should be completed and returned to the Bursar's Office before resuming program study.
- When involuntarily losing student’s own insurance coverage due to a qualified life-changing event (e.g. terminated from parent's plan when turning 26 or if the policy holder loses health insurance due to a job change). This Student Health Insurance Qualifying Event Enrollment Form AY25-26 should be completed and and returned to the Bursar's Office, along with other required items listed on the form within the time frame stated on the form.
Premium amount will be based on the SHIP coverage duration till the remainder of the policy year (information included on the above listed Form). After the Enrollment Form, termination letter,, and premium payment is received by the Bursar's Office, the student’s enrollment request will be sent by the Bursar’s Office to UHP for processing.