May 23, 2018
Change to Eligibility Requirements for Student Health Insurance for Graduate Students
Many universities across the United States require health insurance as a condition of enrollment. In 2009, the UNC Board of Governors approved the implementation of a “hard waiver” SHIP for all the UNC campuses. The term “hard waiver” means any students meeting specific criteria is required to show evidence of an existing “creditable coverage” or enroll in the UNC System-Wide Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). ECU therefore has a mandatory health insurance requirement for campus-based students.
To give many students an option for purchase, ECU offers a SHIP to all campus-based students, including graduate students. The eligibility criteria for purchasing this insurance has changed, effective Fall 2018. Graduate students who are enrolled in a minimum of 3 credit hours of campus based classes will be eligible to purchase the SHIP through ECU. Previously, the requirement was a minimum of 6 credits of campus based classes; more students will now be eligible to purchase this policy due to the change.
However, this also means more students will need to participate in the “waive out” program if they do not wish to purchase the SHIP. All graduate students should review the Frequently Asked Questions website for Student Health Services. Once there, graduate students can click on “Insurance” and a drop-down block will show several questions with thorough answers regarding purchasing the SHIP, waiving out, and where to go for more information.
Any graduate student enrolled in 3 credits of campus based courses in Fall 2018 and all subsequent semesters, will need to show evidence of health insurance or “waive out.” If the student does not have insurance, then the SHIP can be purchased through the student account. This charge is added to all eligible student accounts until the “waive out” process is completed. The deadline for waiving out is September 11 for the Fall semester and January 31 for the Spring semester.
If a graduate student has any questions about the mandatory health insurance requirement or their individual situation relative to the requirement, the Insurance Administrator’s office can be contacted at 252-328-6841, option 5.
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