University Health Service (UHS)
Health Insurance for Families
If your spouse and children will be with you in Rochester, we recommend that you purchase health insurance for them to help cover the cost of your family's health care needs while you are a student. Health insurance generally covers the cost of services such as hospitalization, surgery, and diagnostic laboratory tests and x-rays. The amount of coverage will depend on the insurance plan you choose. Health insurance will not cover all of your family's health care needs. You are responsible for paying for costs not covered by your insurance plan.
Insurance Options for Families:
- If you have a spouse/domestic partner and no children: The student and his/her spouse or domestic partner can enroll in the University-sponsored Aetna Student Health insurance for full-time students as long as the student is registered full-time and is enrolled in the plan. For the 2012-2013 year, the student and spouse each pay $480 for the mandatory health fee and $1,956 for the health insurance. The charge is billed to the student's tuition statement. See "Fees for Students with Families" for a breakdown of the fees. (Note: The fees for 2013-2014 are $492 for the mandatory health fee and $2,124 for health insurance.)
- If you have a dependent child or children under age 26: Students who are enrolled in Aetna Student Health can enroll their dependent child(ren) in the plan. The cost to enroll dependent children is $3,330 per year for 2012-2013. The mandatory health fee is not charged for dependent children since UHS does not provide services for children under age 16. If your child is 16 or over, please speak with the UHS Insurance Advisor about the mandatory health fee. See "Fees for Students with Families" for a breakdown of the fees. Due to the high cost of insurance for children, students from the United States may want to check "Insurance Options through New York State" (see below) for more affordable insurance for children. (Note: The fee for Aetna Student Health insurance for dependent children is $3,639 for 2013-2014.)
- Insurance Options through New York Statea; Students are encouraged to check insurance options offered by New York State for themselves and/or their families. These programs provide free or low cost health insurance for adults and children in New York State.
Completing the Health Insurance Enrollment/Waiver Process
- Health insurance is required for all full-time students. Each year every full-time student, whether new or returning, must complete the online Health Insurance Enrollment/Waiver Process during the open enrollment period to select their insurance coverage for the year. The link to the online process is in the Quick Links box on the UHS home page.
- Students who are enrolled in the University-sponsored insurance plan may enroll their spouse/domestic partner and/or their dependent children in the plan. The enrollment/waiver process must be completed during the appropriate open enrollment period or within 30 days of a qualifying event. See "Health Insurance for Full-time Students" for information about the fall and winter open enrollment periods and for information about enrolling during the year as a result of a qualifying event (e.g., marriage, birth of a child, divorce, loss of coverage through a spouse)
Questions
Contact the UHS Insurance Advisor at insurance@uhs.rochester.edu if you have questions about the University-sponsored health insurance plan.