Health Insurance Requirement for all Emory Students:

Information for New, Transfer and Reentering Students for Spring Semester 2010

THE SPRING 2010 STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE REQUIREMENT WAIVER SITE IS OPEN FOR ALL NEW, TRANSFER AND REENTERING EMORY STUDENTS November 2, 2009 - January 13, 2010 AT www.opus.emory.edu

Please note: The waiver process is only for new, transfer and reentering Spring 2010 students and not for continuing students.

Information for Summer 2010 new or transfer students will be available soon.

When uninsured/underinsured students become seriously ill or injured, their academic careers can be significantly threatened by substantial healthcare debt, disability or both. Therefore, all new and continuing degree-seeking and international Emory University students (including Oxford College) are required to have health insurance. Under this requirement, students must either purchase the Emory University Student Health Insurance Plan (offered by Aetna Student Health) or provide documentation of enrollment in an acceptable United States-domiciled plan. All new, reentering or transfer Spring 2010 degree-seeking students and all international students will have a link on their OPUS account at www.opus.emory.edu, requiring them to complete the waiver process on-line by the first day of Spring Semester classes.  The Spring 2010 waiver site is open from November 2, 2009 to January 13, 2010).

If a student has not waived out of the Emory Student Health Insurance Plan by the last week of November, 2009, he/she will be automatically enrolled in the Emory/Aetna plan for 2009-10 and billed by Emory Student Financial Services (SFS). However, the student will still have until the end of the waiver process (January 13) to complete a waiver and have the insurance enrollment and charge reversed.

Students will need to complete the annual insurance enrollment/waiver process each year they are enrolled at Emory. If the student wishes to be enrolled in the Emory University Student Health Insurance Plan, that enrollment will happen automatically at the end of the waiver process.

1. Coverage that allows the insured student to receive outpatient, emergency, specialist and inpatient care, diagnostic testing and procedures, and mental health inpatient and outpatient care, including alcohol and substance abuse treatment, in Atlanta, GA.  (Please note that coverage in Atlanta for emergency care only does not meet this waiver criterion.)
2. An individual annual deductible not greater than $2,500 per policy year.   If the annual deductible exceeds $2,500, the insured student must have an approved Healthcare Savings Account (HSA) that will allow the student to seek needed medical and mental health care when recommended by a healthcare provider and will cover all deductible expenses over $2,500.  
3. The insurance must be provided by an insurance company domiciled in the United States or by a foreign insurance company that has a United States domestic partner for purposes of billing.

There have also been some important changes to the 2009-10 Emory/Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan.  These changes include:

• The plan features three-tiers of coverage, including an Emory Healthcare Core (100% coverage with no annual deductible after co-payment of $25 for specialist care and $50 for Emergency Room; co-payments are waived at Emory Student Health and Counseling Services), Preferred Care at Aetna PPO providers (80% coverage after co-payment and a $200 annual deductible) and Out-of-Network care (60% coverage after co-payment and a $400 annual deductible).
• The addition of a $500 vision care benefit for exams, glasses and contact lenses.

Please be aware that every Emory degree-seeking and international student must complete the student health insurance requirement waiver process once a year (each Fall Semester) every year. 

Revised 10/29/2009