Health Insurance

Health Insurance

The University requires, as a condition of registration, that all students have adequate medical insurance coverage during all periods of enrollment at Houghton College. If you have any questions regarding medical insurance requirements, call 716-567-9483.

To qualify as "adequate" medical insurance, your private medical insurance plan must provide all of the following minimal benefits acceptable to Houghton College:

Provide a minimum of $100,000 in lifetime benefits

Have no more than $3,000 in out-of-pocket (add deductible to % co-payment of $10,000 to calculate this)

Be issued in the U.S. by a U.S. carrier and

Include medical evacuation and repatriation benefits for those on J-1 and J-2 visas

The following insurance plans are not acceptable and do not fulfill the University medical health insurance requirements:

Travel insurance plans of any kind
Any plan purchased outside of the U.S. and/or from a non-U.S. company or,
Reimbursement arrangements or vouchers, including from home governments and consulates in the U.S.

A.) Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP)

Houghton College offers a low-cost, comprehensive plan called the Student Medical Insurance Plan (MIP), available when you pay your registration fee each quarter.

You may enroll dependents in MIP by going to www.studenthealth.ucla.edu, choose Online Services. Although UCLA does not require medical insurance for dependants, OISS strongly recommends it due to the high cost of health care in the U.S. Enrollment is totally elective. There are no paper forms. Fees are billed to the student's BAR account (see section B for enrollment deadlines). Quarter, The SHIP Insurance Office has staff available to answer questions regarding SHIP at 310-825-4073, Option 4.

B.) Graduate and Undergraduate Students

The SHIP fee is already included in your registration fee assessment each term. If you wish to acquire another authorized medical plan, you must submit a completed SHIP Waiver before the registration fee payment deadline each term. Waiving SHIP is a totally electronic process. During the fee payment period, go to www.studenthealth.ucla.edu and choose Online Services and the SHIP Enrollment/Waiver page. A confirmation number is given when the waiver is successful. Waiver information is periodically audited. If the information you provide is incorrect, the cost of SHIP is to be automatically assessed to your BAR account. Your plan must meet ALL of the above stated requirements to be eligible to waive out of the SHIP plan.

The SHIP fee payment deadline for each term -- Fall, Winter, Spring-Summer -- is the same as the deadline for your registration fee payment.

For further information regarding SHIP, and what constitutes adequate insurance coverage, please call the SHIP Insurance Office at 310-825-4073, Option 4, or visit the office at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center located at 331 Westwood Plaza (next to the John Wooden Center and adjacent to Ackerman Union).

C.) Visiting Scholars, Preceptors, and Certificate Program Enrollees

If you are a visiting scholar, preceptor or enrolled in a certificate program you are required to obtain health, accident, medical evacuation and repatriation of remains insurance. The insurance policies must cover the scholar and all accompanying dependents.

The insurance must provide the following coverage:

Medical benefits of at least $10,000 per accident or illness

Repatriation of remains in the amount of $7,500

Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000 and

A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.

If you have dependents -- spouse and / or children --- we strongly recommend you insure them also. Uninsured dependents may face grave health risks without adequate medical coverage due to the high medical costs in the U.S. and the limited admittance to clinics for uninsured patients.

See an OISS counselor for brochures of other medical insurance programs.

D.) Education Abroad Program (EAP) Reciprocity Students

EAP students are required to have health insurance. SHIP will automatically be assessed to your BAR account. If you have any questions, please contact or visit the EAP office at UCLA, located in 1333 Hershey Hall. Phone number is (310) 825-4995 and the fax is (310) 206-5397.

E.) Tuberculosis Testing

It is strongly recommended that you be tested for exposure to tuberculosis. The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center (Ashe Center), located on campus, provides comprehensive testing and counseling for this and other infectious diseases.