Barnard College
STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN
2025-2026 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 2025-2026 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. 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
| Annual Students | New Spring Students | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage Dates | 8/22/25 - 8/21/26 | 1/12/26 - 8/21/26 |
| Insurance Cost | $4,828 | $2,918 |
| Waiver Deadline | August 22, 2025 | TBD |
Waiver/Enrollment Process
All Barnard students (domestic and international) are automatically charged for and enrolled in the Barnard College Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan. If you are covered by a comprehensive health insurance plan, you may opt out of the SHIP by completing the waiver request form, located in the left-hand side navigation menu.
Before submitting the waiver request form, we encourage students to compare the cost, coverage, and benefits of the SHIP to your existing plan. Your comprehensive health insurance plan must meet the below requirements.
- J-visa holders: The U.S. Department of State (USDOS) requires that all J-1 visa holders have health and accident insurance during the entire length of their stay. Accordingly, international students on a J-visa are not eligible to waive The Barnard SHIP. F-visa holders may be eligible for a waiver.
- The policy must be a US-filed and approved, ACA (Affordable Care Act) compliant plan. International and travel insurance plans, short-term limited-duration plans, National Health Service programs, and health-sharing plans/Christian Healthcare Ministries are not accepted.
- The plan must provide access to doctors, specialists, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, and behavioral health providers in NYC without restriction or limitation. Please note, if you are enrolled in an out-of-state Medicaid or HMO your coverage may not be sufficient in NYC. Many out-of-state plans do not provide comprehensive benefits outside of the home service area. Emergency/urgent and virtual-only coverage does not meet the waiver requirements.
Waiver request form submissions will be reviewed by University Health Plans. As part of the review process, you may be required to provide proof that your plan meets the waiver requirements. By submitting the waiver request form, you agree that your comprehensive health insurance plan may be contacted for confirmation that you have coverage for the applicable 2025-2026 Policy Year and it meets the waiver requirements. After successfully submitting the waiver request form, University Health Plans will send a decision to the student’s Barnard e-mail account stating the waiver request form has either been approved or denied. Students should check their Barnard e-mail account regularly. The decision takes 5-7 business days after the waiver request form has been submitted.
Students who do not submit a waiver form by the deadline will be enrolled in the SHIP retroactively to the policy effective date and responsible for the insurance premium.
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 at ewasserman@barnard.edu within 31 days of the loss of coverage.
