Ithaca College
STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN

2016-2017 POLICY YEAR

Annual Waiver Form – The Waiver Deadline Date of August 31, 2016 has passed.

The waiver deadline was August 31, 2016. The Waiver Appeal Form is now available for students who have other health insurance coverage, but failed to submit the online waiver prior to the posted deadline. You may access the Waiver Appeal form at the left hand side of this page. Submitting the Waiver Appeal Form does NOT guarantee that the insurance charge will be removed from your student account. You will receive an email in approximately 2 weeks stating whether your appeal has been approved.

Dear Students and Parents:

Ithaca College requires all matriculated undergraduate and graduate students to have health insurance. In an effort to increase access to health care, Ithaca College has partnered with AIG to provide a plan with comprehensive coverage for Ithaca College students. This plan is serviced by University Health Plans. The charge to obtain coverage under this plan from August 10, 2016 - through August 9, 2017 is $1,514.

In order to ensure that all students have health insurance coverage, all student accounts will initially be charged for the plan. If you are a domestic student and wish to opt out of this plan and have the insurance charge removed from your account, you must submit an online waiver form and provide proof of current health insurance coverage prior to the waiver deadline.

All International students and other non-U.S. residents at Ithaca College will be automatically enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan, but not until the waiver period closes. Therefore, in order to avoid any delay in establishing benefits or gaps in coverage, we strongly recommend that you complete and submit the enrollment form for international students accessible via the left navigation window before August 10, 2016. If you are covered by an Embassy Sponsored Program, or a U.S. based health insurance plan with equal or better coverage, you may complete and submit the paper waiver form for international students accessible via the left navigation window before August 10, 2016. If a student is NOT covered by an Embassy Sponsored Program or comparable U.S. based health insurance plan, they are NOT allowed to waive the health insurance. The Ithaca College Student Health Insurance Plan meets the J1/J2 visa requirements.

Please visit www.universityhealthplans.com to enroll in or waive out of the plan by August 10, 2016. Instructions can be found on line.

Important Changes to the 2016/17 Student Health Insurance Plan:​

• Effective 08/10/16, the Prescription Drug Network included with the Ithaca College Student Health Plan will be switching to OptumRx. If having a prescription filled on 08/10/16 or after, please make sure you present your new insurance ID Card at that time.
• Prescription Drugs Copays under the 2016-2017 plan are changing to $15 Copay for Generic; $30 Copay for Preferred Brand; and $50 Copay for Non-Preferred Brand.
• The insurance carrier is changing from Nationwide Life Insurance Company to American International Group (AIG).

To expedite enrollment in the plan, students must submit the online enrollment form. Students who are enrolled in the plan for the 2015-2016 policy year should submit the online enrollment form for the 2016-2017 policy year as soon as possible to avoid a disruption in coverage.

If you are covered by your family’s or spouse’s insurance plan, we encourage you to compare the costs, coverage, and benefits of the student health insurance plan to those of your existing plan before making any decision about your health insurance.

Consider the following in making your decision:

• Students with out of state HMO/PPO or Medicaid plans often incur higher charges when obtaining care out of the network and access to local services in Ithaca may be limited or denied.
• Some insurance plans, including out-of-state Medicaid Plans, only cover urgent or emergent care when care is obtained outside of the plan’s service area.
• Some plans do not cover outpatient referrals, or may only cover them after a high deductible or co-payment; this plan can help cover those expenses.

If you do elect to waive coverage, we recommend that you provide Ithaca College Student Health Services with a copy of your medical and prescription cards. While this is not required, it will enable Health Center staff to better assist you with your health needs. Please fax a copy of both the front and back of your cards to 607-274-1844, or email a picture to healthcenter@ithaca.edu. This is not in place of the above mentioned waiver.

You should also be aware that all enrolled and matriculated Ithaca College students are able to access care at the Hammond Health Center regardless of your decision to keep or to waive the student health insurance plan. There are no charges for most of the services provided at the health center.

Please call University Health Plans at 1-800-437-6448 if you have questions regarding the student health insurance plan.