Enroll, Waive, or Add Coverage

If you have not enrolled in SHIP before the Fall deadline (September 20th) or Spring deadline (January 31st), you may still enroll if you experienced a “qualifying life event.”

Qualifying life events include:

• Changes or loss of a parent’s or spouse’s healthcare plan
• Marriage or divorce
• Aging out of coverage provided by a parent’s plan

To request enrollment due to a qualifying life event, you will need to send a written request for insurance coverage (including documentation of your involuntary loss of health insurance) within 31 days from the date your previous coverage ended. The documentation must include the effective date the coverage ended. Typical documentation may include:

• A copy of the Certificate of Credible Coverage issued due to the insurance termination
• Confirmation of the insurance termination from the employer on company letterhead

Send your request and supporting documentation by email (insmed@bu.edu) or fax to 617-353-3313. Requests may also be mailed to Boston University, Student Accounting Services, 25 Buick Street, Suite 130, Boston, MA 02215.

Your healthcare plan likely qualifies as comparable coverage if it:

• It is “underwritten” in the United States.
  Being “based in the United States” is not equivalent and will not be accepted.
  
  
• It is NOT an “ISO” branded insurance product
  These plans are aggressively marketed to college students as “comparable,” but when reviewed, often not compliant with state regulations.
  
  
• It uses an open network of providers in the Boston area
  Health plans with a closed network of providers and accessible only for emergency services (such as out-of-area HMOs, EPOs, or Medicaid products) are generally not accepted.
  
  
• Is located within a reasonable distance of the greater Boston area
  
  
• Covers an unlimited lifetime dollar limit on coverage
  
  
• Has preventive care coverage without coinsurance
  
  
• Has primary care coverage
  
  
• Has emergency room coverage
  
  
• Has coverage for surgery in both the hospital and outpatient settings
  
  
• Has coverage for outpatient medical visits (e.g., specialist visits)
  
  
• Has coverage for outpatient mental health or behavioral health visits (e.g., counseling or psychiatry visits), including those for substance use
  
  
• Has coverage for behavioral health hospitalizations
  
  
• Has coverage for prescription drugs

In our experience, there are a number of student health plans that are not compliant with our comparable coverage requirements.

Review our list of non-compliant plans