Graduate Students
Self-Pay Graduate Students
Health Insurance for Your Health and Education
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 website will answer many of your questions. If you need more information, please e-mail, call, or stop by our Collegetown office. We’re eager to be of assistance.
Billing and Payment
Self-pay Graduate Students
Students who pay any or all tuition/fees for their graduate studies are enrolled
automatically in Cornell’s Student Health Insurance Plan. The SHIP premium will
appear on your July bursar bill. (If you are unsure of your funding status, check
with your field for clarification.)
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. Contact our office to sign up for this before the September 30 deadline.
Only those students who can demonstrate that they have insurance meeting all six of Cornell’s criteria may appeal this requirement.
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.
NOTE: Fully-funded graduate students may not file an appeal. However, you may retain your own health insurance plan in addition to the SHIP if you choose.
To meet Cornell’s criteria, your health insurance plan must:
- be provided by a company licensed to do business in the United States, with a US claim payment office and US phone number
- 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.)
[It may be helpful to you to review a list of Ithaca-area medical providers to determine whether any participate in another insurance plan you might be considering. The Ithaca-Area Yellow Pages provides up-to-date lists of providers of every kind of care available in the area, including medical, mental health, dental, eye care, pharmacy, and alternative and complementary medicines. You may also want to consult Cayuga Medical Center (CMC)'s Physician Finder.] - provide coverage in the Ithaca area for outpatient and inpatient mental health care.
- have a maximum benefit of at least $500,000 per year
- remain in force as long as you are a registered student at Cornell
- cover pre-existing conditions
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 from your Graduate School representative (below).
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 Applications are due by September 30 (or 30 days after initial billing
for late registrants; February 28 for spring entrants*). Only complete and on-time applications will be considered.
* Spring entrants are those who enroll in spring semester and who were not enrolled in fall semester.
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 from your Graduate School representative (below) who will verify your eligibility. 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.
Graduate School Representatives
- Biological Sciences students:
Diane Yates
143 Caldwell
255-1894
dry2@cornell.edu - Engineering students:
- Agricultural & Biological through Electical Engineering
Barbara Edinger
143 Caldwell
255-5817
bae2@cornell.edu
- Geological Science through Throretical & Applied Mechanics
Anne Haessner
143 Caldwell
255-5826
ah33@cornell.edu - Humanities students:
Shirley Weaver
143 Caldwell
255-5819
sjw5@cornell.edu - Physical Science students:
Shirley Weaver
143 Caldwell
255-5819
sjw5@cornell.edu - Social Science students:
- Field name A-K:
Janine Brace
143 Caldwell
255-5832
jmb20@cornell.edu
- Field name L-Z:
Anne Haessner
143 Caldwell
255-5826
ah33@cornell.edu
Options and Assistance
Please e-mail or stop by our Collegetown office if you:
- have dependents to enroll in the SHIP
- want to enroll in the dental or vision plan
- want to arrange for the Installment Payment Plan
- are graduating at the end of the fall semester and want to sign up for the
Early Grad Option
- have questions or need assistance
We are eager to help!
Pamphlet
For more information, you can read and print information we send to all self-pay graduate students in July each year. We also provide an insurance comparison chart to help you judge the relative value of the SHIP and other plan(s) you might consider. Check back in late July for 2009-10 information.
- 2009-2010 SHIP pamphlet (pdf)
- insurance comparison chart (pdf)