Student Insurance

Ithaca College requires all undergraduate students who are enrolled for a minimum of 6 credit hours, and all graduate students enrolled for 3 credit hours or more to have health insurance.

We are pleased to offer a new student health insurance plan for the 2012-2013 policy year. The policy is underwritten by Nationwide Life Insurance Company and serviced by University Health Plans. It provides comprehensive coverage at a reasonable cost, is compliant with the Health Care Reform Act, and supplements the benefits available through the Hammond Health Center. A summary of benefits is included with this letter for your review. The full brochure is available online at www.universityhealthplans.com.

The charge for the basic plan, which begins on August 10, 2012, and provides a full 12 months of coverage, is $1,110.00 per student per year. This charge will be included on your student’s account. If you do not desire this coverage, you must submit aN ONLINE waiver FORM in order to have the $1,110.00 charge removed. When submitting a waiver you will be required to enter proof of your current insurance, so have that information available.

The online waiver/enrollment system will be available from June 15th, 2012, to September 16th, 2012. You may access the online waiver or enrollment form by visiting www.universityhealthplans.com at any time during this period.

Students who know that they want to enroll in the student health insurance plan may submit an online enrollment form to expedite the processing of their enrollment. Students who do not submit either a waiver or enrollment form by the deadline will be automatically enrolled in the plan. Students who enroll in the basic plan may also elect to purchase the optional major medical benefit and/or add dependents to their plan for an additional premium.

We recommend that you carefully consider the student health insurance plan underwritten by Nationwide Life Insurance Company. If you are covered by your family’s or spouse’s insurance plan, we encourage you to compare the costs, coverage, and benefits of the student health insurance plan to those of your existing plan before making any decision about your health insurance. We believe that many students and/or parents will be pleasantly surprised to find that the cost of our plan may be considerably lower than that of other insurance options, while providing more comprehensive coverage with lower out-of-pocket expenses.

Consider the following in making your decision:

  • This plan includes coverage for preventive and well care services, has a low up front deductible, and a prescription medication plan.
  • Your current insurance may not cover the types of expenses that college students most often incur, like outpatient referrals, or may only cover them after a high deductible or co-payment; this plan can help cover those expenses.
  • If your current coverage is through an HMO or PPO out of the Ithaca area, local services in Ithaca may be limited or may be charged to you at a higher, non-preferred rate.
  • Your current insurance plan may only cover urgent or emergent care outside of their network.
  • Coverage through parents’ policies may end once a student reaches a certain age. 

Questions regarding the benefits, limitations and exclusions of this plan, please contact Consolidate Health Plans, the plan administrator, at (800) 633-7867 or email at customerservice@consolidatedhealthplan.com.

The complete Plan brocure is available at www.chpstudent.com.

For a listing of PHCS Providers, go to www.phcs.com or contact CHP for assistance at (800) 633-7867.

IMPORTANT: If you wish to decline the student health insurance plan, you must submit an online waiver before September 16th, 2012. AFTER THIS DATE THE WAIVERS WILL CLOSE AND THE HEALTH INSURANCE FEE IS NON-REFUNDABLE.

We are offering this plan managed by University Health Plans after comparison with other insurance products currently on the market because we believe it offers better service at a cost that has allowed us to broaden coverage. Please call University Health Plans at 1-800-437-6448 if you have questions regarding the student health insurance plan.