Waiver Eligibility & Application Process

• Your Harvard HUID number
• Harvard Pin
• Insurance ID card (Contact your insurance carrier if you do not have a card.)
• The amount of their insurance deductible (if applicable)

Only waivers with all of your information provided will be processed and/or approved.

Per Massachusetts law, your coverage must:

• Provide reasonably comprehensive health coverage throughout the school year, including preventive and primary care, emergency services, surgical services, hospitalization benefits, ambulatory patient services, mental health services, and prescription drugs; and
• Be reasonably accessible in the area where you are located for the term

Per Massachusetts law, your coverage cannot be:

• Through the Health Safety Net, MassHealth Limited, or the Children’s Medical Security Program
• From an insurance carrier outside the United States or National Health Insurance Programs (national coverage programs from outside of the U S) unless you have been approved by your school to study outside of the United States and the insurance provides coverage in that location
• From a health benefit plan that provides coverage through a closed network of providers, not reasonably accessible in the state in which you are located, for all but emergency services

We do not review alternative health insurance plans, nor do we confirm whether your non-Harvard coverage meets the requirements for waiving the Student Health Insurance Plan. It is your responsibility to determine whether your coverage is comparable. Use our waiver checklist to determine if your plan meets the requirements.

Extension School students should contact their Student Financial Services Office directly to learn about waiver eligibility and application.

The Student Health Fee is required for the large majority of students as part of school registration. The funding from this fee allows us to provide access and services to all students, including counseling and mental health care, at the on-campus Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) clinic for no additional cost. This fee does not provide coverage for any health care services received outside of HUHS and is not considered an insurance policy.

The Student Health Fee pays for the entire infrastructure for student services at HUHS. Most students may associate HUHS with direct medical and counseling services, but these are only a portion of the responsibilities that HUHS assumes on behalf of the University.

The services below are offered outside the scope of direct medical services, but funded by the SHF:

• Counseling and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) outreach
• Confidential testing at HUHS
• Flu clinics for students
• Immunization compliance
• Managing and staffing the waiver processes
• Nutrition outreach
• Pandemic planning
• Patient care coordination
• University-wide public health efforts
• Wellness workshops

A limited number of students who meet certain criteria can waive the Student Health Fee. Coverage by other health insurance coverage does not qualify as a reason to waive the Student Health Fee, even if it allows you to waive the Student Health Insurance Plan. See eligibility to waive this fee above.

• You will receive a confirmation email after submitting your online waiver application. Keep a copy of this email for your records. We will not review any disputed fees without a copy of this email. 
• You are responsible for double-checking the official email address listed on the application.
• You are allowed to add an alternative email address. Please confirm that the email address is correct. 
• You can also log back into the student insurance portal and re-confirm the status of their waiver at any point.

NOTE: You must be registered as study abroad, traveling scholar, and/or registered in absentia with Harvard University to waive with foreign health insurance. The insurance must be comparable in the country where you will be studying.

• Log into the Student Insurance Portal with your Harvard Key
• Select “Waive Coverage”
• Select “Student Health Insurance Plan”
• Select “Other” as the Insurance name from the drop-down list
• Select the Country from the drop-down list before completing the rest of the fields
• Complete the rest of the required fields. Your insurance policy number will be required to complete the application.
• Submit your waiver before logging out
• You will receive a waiver confirmation via email once your waiver has been submitted. If you do not receive an email, we did not receive your waiver.

NOTE: You must be registered as study abroad, traveling scholar, and/or registered in absentia with Harvard University to waive with foreign health insurance. The national health care must be in the country where you will be studying.

• Log into the Student Insurance Portal with your Harvard Key
• Select “Waive Coverage”
• Select “Student Health Insurance Plan”
• Select “National Health Care – foreign remote learning abroad” as the Insurance name from the drop-down list
• Many fields will auto-populate
• Select the Country from the drop-down list
• Complete the remaining required fields. A policy number is not required for individuals waiving with national health care coverage; however, if you have one, please complete that field.
• Submit your waiver before logging out
• You will receive a waiver confirmation via email once your waiver has been submitted. If you do not receive an email, we did not receive your waiver. 

Step One: Completing the Application

• Log into the Student Insurance Portal with your Harvard Key
• Select “Waive Coverage”
• Click “Begin new waiver application”
• Read through the application and check the acknowledgment statements where applicable
• On the complete waiver application page, select the plan(s) and the term(s) you wish to waive
• Under the “non-Harvard Insurance information section, select “Pending Enrollment” from the drop-down menu:
  •  Select “pending enrollment” even if you know the name of your insurance carrier; this will automatically populate the other fields
• Review statements, acknowledge that you’ve read them, and select continue
• Click submit

The charge for the Student Health Insurance Plan will remain on your student bill until you complete all three steps in the pending waiver process.

Step Two: Provide Proof

• Email proof of your health insurance to Mservices@huhs.harvard.edu within 30-days of your effective date
• The proof must be an official letter from your health insurance carrier or from the subscriber’s Human Resources Department. The letter must include the following:
  • Your name
  • The name of your insurance plan
  • The effective date of the policy

Step Three: Finalize the Process

• Log into the Student Insurance Portal with your Harvard Key
• Select “Update Information” (lower right corner) on your current waiver plan information
• Click “I understand” in the pop-up dialog box, then select “I have a new insurance company”
• Select your insurance carrier or type the information and select continue
• Submit update form

Be sure you completed all of the required fields to avoid processing delays, especially the policy/member ID. 

IMPORTANT: If your health insurance plan starts after 8/1 (Fall term) or after 2/1 (Spring term), you will be charged for one or two months of the Student Health Insurance Plan. The charge assessed will be dependent upon your waived plan’s effective date. 

If you do not complete all three steps, your pending waiver will be denied, and you will be charged the full cost of the health insurance. 

Did your non-Harvard insurance change after you submitted your waiver? Updating your waived insurance information is easy.

When your non-Harvard insurance changes during the course of the academic year, we ask you to update your information on the Student Insurance Portal.

If you have received financial aid, notify your school’s financial aid office that you are waiving the Student Health Insurance Plan, as this is a change to your cost of attendance.

Attention GSAS Ph.D. Students: Fellowship support is not available to cover the cost of the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) from other sources if you waive SHIP; please consult with your GSAS Financial Aid Officer. 

Extension School Students
Extension School students should contact their Student Financial Services Office directly to learn about waiver eligibility and application.

Not all plans offer coverage for services reasonably accessible to you in Massachusetts. Although your other insurance may meet the definition of comparable coverage, we recommend you review the waiver checklist to help you assess whether your insurance would provide coverage for you while away from home.

When you are enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan and another health insurance plan, the Student Health Insurance Plan is always a secondary payer. This means that all claims are processed first through your other insurance and then processed by the Student Health Insurance Plan. To avoid any claims issues, please notify your providers of both plans. Please contact BCBS Coordination of Benefits at (888) 799-1888 for more information.