Barnard College
STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN

2021-2022 Academic Year

Barnard College requires all students to maintain health insurance coverage throughout the academic year, both to protect against unexpected high medical costs and to provide access to quality healthcare while students are at school or traveling abroad. Therefore, all students enrolled at Barnard College are required to enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) or be covered by a health insurance plan with comparable coverage.

Plan Highlights

The 2021-2022 Barnard College SHIP is provided by Aetna Student Health. The plan is ACA compliant and includes access to Aetna’s national Open Choice PPO network of providers. Students do not have to select a primary care physician and referrals are not required. 

Barnard College has partnered with University Health Plans to administer the plan and help with waiver, enrollment, or benefit-related questions. University Health Plans can be reached at 833-251-1741 or info@univhealthplans.com.
 

Cost and Coverage Periods

Waiver/Enrollment Process

Students are automatically charged for and enrolled in the Barnard College SHIP. If you are covered by a comprehensive health insurance plan you can opt-out of the Barnard College SHIP by completing the waiver form located in the left-hand side navigation menu. If you do not submit a waiver form by the waiver deadline above, you will be enrolled in the SHIP and responsible for the premium. Once you are enrolled, the coverage cannot be canceled.

Before waiving, compare the cost, coverage, and benefits of the SHIP to your existing plan. In order to waive out, all of the below criteria must apply:

• The plan must provide access to doctors, specialists, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, and behavioral health providers in NYC. Out-of-state Medicaid and many out-of-state HMO or EPO plans do not provide out-of-network coverage. Emergency/urgent only coverage does not meet the waiver requirements.
• The policy must be a US health insurance plan that is filed and approved in the US and ACA (Affordable Care Act) compliant. Travel insurance, short-term limited duration plans, and health sharing plans are not accepted.

Waiver submissions will be reviewed by Barnard College or the Plan Broker and Administrator, University Health Plans. You may be required to provide proof that your plan meets the waiver requirements. By submitting the waiver request, you agree that your current insurance plan may be contacted for confirmation that you have coverage for the applicable 2021-2022 Policy Year and it meets the waiver requirements. After successfully submitting the waiver form University Health Plans will send a decision to the student’s Barnard e-mail account stating the insurance has either been approved or denied. Please check the student’s Barnard e-mail account regularly. The decision takes 5-7 business days after the waiver has been submitted.
 

Qualifying Event Enrollment Process

Students who waived the SHIP may qualify for special enrollment rights if they incur an involuntary loss of other coverage. To request an enrollment form and premium quote, contact Elliot Wasserman, Director of Operations at Barnard College at 212-854-8305, or via email ewasserman@barnard.edu within 31 days of the loss of coverage.