Who qualifies for an exemption?

In order to qualify for an exemption you must have other equivalent health insurance.

Students who meet the Equivalent Insurance requirement are: 

• Students who are covered under a major employee health insurance plan.
• Students who are covered under an independent or travel plan that has a minimum of $200,000 in benefits.
               
• Your plan must be in effect prior to the first day coverage of the Student Health Insurance Plan for the semester the Exemption is being requested.
• You will be required to maintain an equivalent health insurance plan for the duration of your registration.
• Proof of equivalent insurance must be presented with your Exemption form.
  • Proof of coverage may be an insurance card, or a letter stating coverage from your insurance company.
  • Type of coverage (HMO, PPO, 80/20), the deducible, if any, and the effective date of coverage (the date the coverage began) must be included in this information.

How can I extend the exemption deadline?

If you feel you will not have the necessary documentation to apply for an Exemption prior to the deadline, please go to the Download Enrollment/Change Period Forms page at this website and complete an Extension to the Deadline Form and fax or mail the form to the Student Insurance office. This request must be submitted to the Student Insurance office before the original semester deadline in order for the extension to be allowed. The Extension to the deadline will provide you with additional time to receive and submit the necessary information. This Extension to the Deadline does not extend any other university deadline.

If approved, the Exemption will remain in force until:

1. You request Reinstatement into the Student Health Insurance Plan.
2. You do not respond to a random survey that instructs you to verify that you have remained insured with an equivalent health insurance plan.

Please note that this office cannot guarantee you approval for reinstatement. Requirements to be reinstated are listed under Reinstatement.

Because Exemptions are permanent, we ask that all students wishing to apply for an exemption first contact their health insurance carrier and discuss the following questions concerning your current health insurance plan.

What questions I should ask my health insurance carrier before applying for an exemption from the student insurance fee?

1. Is there a full time student status requirement for coverage under your current health insurance?
Most employee health insurance plans require submitted proof of full time student status before they will provide coverage. Most students, who become ill or injured, reduce their class load or withdraw from the University to obtain treatment, which can result in losing the employee health insurance. Full time status is not required under the Student Insurance Plan. Therefore, if the student needs to reduce the amount of hours enrolled, due to sickness, financial circumstance or any other unforeseen reasons, the Student Insurance coverage is not terminated. Even if a student withdraws from the university, coverage will continue until the end of the semester, and a student can then apply for an extension of coverage for the next semester.

2. Is the Champaign/Urbana area included within your health insurance carrier's benefit coverage area?
If not, then in effect the student does not have health insurance coverage for local providers while attending school, which is a nine to eleven month period out of the year. This means the student would be required to return home for services. The Student Health Insurance Plan does not have coverage "network." It provides worldwide coverage with unlimited choices of doctors and hospitals.

3. Does your other health insurance carrier provide out of area coverage only in case of emergency care? If so, how do they define an emergency?
For many students this is their first extended stay away from home. While McKinley Health Center provides a number of services, it is a student health center, not a clinic. McKinley Health Center does not have evening hours and it is closed on Sundays and holidays. Illness that might seem quite critical to a student in the middle of the night may or may not be considered an emergency by your health insurance carrier. The Student Health Insurance Plan determines if services are covered based on the diagnosis and service provided, not on where or when the services were performed. This means students can go to the emergency room for any covered condition.

4. Do you have a deductible?
Some deductibles are due annually, while others are due per occurrence (accident or illness). If so, how much is it and under what circumstance does it apply? Beginning in Fall of 2005, the Student Health Insurance Plan will have an annual $150.00 Outpatient/Illness deductible that becomes effective at the beginning of each plan deductible. Once this is met the plan pays covered services at 80% of the Charged amount or 80% of the Usual and Customary fee, whichever is less. Some plan limitations apply. In addition there is a $100.00 inpatient deductible when hospitalized for undergrads and no inpatient hospital deductible for graduate students. Surgery (outpatient or inpatient), ambulance, psychiatric counseling, anesthesia and outpatient diagnostic procedures as defined in the plan, are exempt from the deductible. Beginning in the Fall of 2005, there will also be a $50 deductible per emergency room visit.

5. To what age limit can students be covered under your current health insurance plan?
Many health insurance plans only allow coverage, whether you are enrolled in full time status or not, until the age of twenty-three. This age has been decreased in some HMOs and PPOs to the age of twenty-one. The Student Health Insurance Plan has no student age limit.

6. Does your health insurance carrier require pre-authorization for services before benefits will be allowed?
The Student Insurance plan requires no pre-approval or authorization in order to allow benefits.

How do I apply for an exemption?

At the beginning of each semester there is an Enrollment/Change Period. Exemptions must be done during this time. 

•  During the Enrollment/Change Period for the semester you wish to exempt, the required exemption form can be downloaded from this website on the Download Enrollment/Change Period Forms page.
  
• All applications must be submitted by the deadline and directed to the Student Insurance office. 
  
• Please make a copy of your completed Exemption form for your records.
  
• Any forms taken from the web must be submitted by fax or mail. They will not be accepted if presented in person.