Graduate Students

Your health is essential to achieving your goals at Cornell. Access to health care and health insurance are essential to your health. Without adequate coverage, unexpected medical expenses could alter your future dramatically. That is why Cornell requires all students to have quality health insurance.  We hope this web site will help you understand Cornell's requirements and consider your options.

For more information, you can review the "Insure Your Health" fact sheet collection (pdf) prepared each year for graduate and professional students. The set includes a comparison chart to help you judge the relative value of the SHIP and other insurance plans. 

Graduate and Professional Students' Cornell SHIP Enrollment & Appeal Info	Choosing Health Insurance	SHIP Overview	SHIP Benefits at a Glance	Compare Your Coverage	Optional Enrollment	Paying for Health Care

We hope this web site will help you understand Cornell's requirements and consider your options. If you are a RETURNING graduate student, please review plan benefit changes for the 2011-2012 year.

Cornell's policy

Since 1974, Cornell University has had a policy requiring all students to have quality health insurance. Cornell utilizes a “hard waiver” system, common on most campuses that have a health insurance requirement, to assure understanding and compliance with this policy. Every graduate student is enrolled automatically in Cornell’s Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).

Billing and payment

Self-pay graduate students (students who pay any or all tuition/fees) are automatically enrolled in and billed for the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). The premium will appear on the July bursar bill. (If you are unsure of your funding status, check with your field for clarification.)  

The charge for the individual SHIP premium will appear on your July bursar bill. You can pay the premium in full or enroll in the Installment Payment Plan. This option allows you to pay over time and carries a small service charge. Come to our office to sign up for this before the September 30 deadline. If you are graduating mid-year, you may be eligible for the Early Grad Option and receive a refund of part of the premium. Please ask if you’d like more information.

Appeal information for self-pay graduate students

If you have coverage through another health insurance plan that is comparable to the SHIP, you may file a written appeal. If your appeal demonstrates that your plan meets all six of Cornell’s criteria, you will not be required to enroll in the SHIP or pay the premium.  

To meet Cornell’s criteria, your health insurance plan must:  

1. be provided by a company licensed to do business in the United States, with a US claim payment office and US phone number
2. provide coverage in the Ithaca area for outpatient and inpatient medical care. (A policy that provides coverage in the Ithaca area on an “emergency care only” basis does not meet this requirement.)*
3. provide coverage in the Ithaca area for outpatient and inpatient mental health care *
   
4. have a maximum benefit of at least $500,000 per year
5. remain in force as long as you are a registered student at Cornell
6. cover pre-existing conditions
   

* It may be helpful to you to review a list of Ithaca-area health care providers to determine whether any participate in another insurance plan you might be considering. The Ithaca-Area Yellow Pages has up-to-date lists of providers. You may also want to consult Cayuga Medical Center (CMC)'s Physician Finder.]

New appeal

If you are appealing for the first time or your health insurance coverage has changed since your appeal was approved, you must obtain an Appeal Application Form and Instructions.

Complete the form and send it, with the requested documentation proving that your own health insurance meets Cornell’s criteria, to the Office of Student Health Insurance for review. Please allow yourself plenty of time to get your application materials together.

Appeal renewal 

You are eligible for a simple renewal of your appeal if your appeal was approved in a previous year AND your health insurance coverage has not changed since the appeal was approved (same company, same policy, same benefits). 

• If you wish to file an appeal renewal, you must obtain an Appeal Renewal Application and Instructions. 
  
• If you were approved for an appeal in a previous year and do not file an appeal renewal this year, you will be enrolled in and charged the premium for the SHIP automatically.
  
• If you were approved for an appeal in a previous year, but wish to be covered by the SHIP this year, you do not need to file any paperwork: you will be enrolled in and charged the premium for the SHIP automatically. 
  

Appeal applications deadlines

Only complete and on-time applications will be considered.

• Fall entrants: September 30 
• Spring entrants: February 28 (those who enroll in spring semester and were not enrolled in the fall semester)
  
• Late registrants: 30 days after initial billing 

Graduate school representatives

Review the GSSR field representatives list (pdf) for contact information.

Premium Refund Policy

There are only three situations in which the SHIP can be cancelled and the premium refunded. If claims from any provider have been submitted and paid for any period, no refund will be provided under any circumstances. Take the time now to learn more.