Health Insurance, student

Columbus campus-based students who are enrolled at least half-time are required to carry health insurance as a condition of enrollment.

All students, including regional campus students, are automatically enrolled in the Student Health Insurance plan (SHI) upon registration, unless the student obtains an exemption. Half-time is defined as five credit hours for graduate and professional students. Distance-learning courses (denoted by a “D” suffix attached to the course number) do not count toward the minimum credit hour requirement.

Waiver

All domestic students who have coverage through a non-university health insurance plan and who want to waive SHI coverage can do so by completing the online waiver process. The 15th calendar day of the term is the firm deadline for enrollment or withdrawal from SHI. Exceptions are rarely granted. Should a student miss a deadline, the student must submit an appeal. The appeal form can be found on the SHI web site.

International students

International students are required to purchase SHI upon registration. Only a few exceptions apply: International students who are fully financially sponsored by a government sponsor or select international organization or international students or dependents of students who are covered as a U.S.-based employee, with U.S.-based insurance. International students who meet one of these exceptions must complete an International Student Health Insurance Waiver form. The 15th calendar day of the term is the firm deadline for submission of the waiver form.

Dependents and same-sex partners

Students may enroll dependent children and same-sex domestic partners into the student health insurance plans. Further information about sponsored dependent benefits is available from the Office of Human Resources.

See Section 3.3 of the Graduate School Handbook. See Section 9.5 for information about health benefits for students with graduate associateship appointments and Section 10.3 for information about health benefits for students with fellowships. For questions, contact the Student Health Insurance program at (614) 688-7979.