Health Center: Student Insurance

Fordham University is pleased to announce that the Student Health Plan has been renewed with Aetna Student Health and will continue to be offered to all eligible Fordham students for the 2024-2025 policy year. The Student Health Plan provides comprehensive health insurance, including access to Aetna Student Health networks and nationwide pharmacies.

The annual rate for 24/25 is $4,605—fall semester $1665 Spring semester $2940.

Learn about Student Health Insurance

Part-time graduate students, Gabelli online students, and PCS students taking 5 credits or less

Graduate, Law, and Dissertation students carrying 5 or fewer credits as well, as students enrolled in Gabelli online programs with four semester starts each calendar year, and PCS students may purchase coverage voluntarily. Students do not have to do a waiver. Students can go online and choose the part-time student plan. The student will not be charged for the insurance on their student account. The student will have to pay with a credit card.

Dental Plan Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) – Preventive

Students are eligible to enroll in the Voluntary Dental Plan offered through Aetna The website is aetnastudenthealth.com. The plan is a preventative PPO plan . The cost of the plan is $250 for the year. The coverage is from 8/23/2024-8/22/2025. The enrollment deadline is 10/22/2024 for the fall term and 03/10/2025 for the spring term. Please click on the link for the dental plan details

https://www.aetnastudenthealth.com/schools/fordham/pdbsPPO2425.pdf

All full-time domestic students' waiver requirements

Students who are enrolled in a health plan that is comparable to the Student Health Plan may waive the Fordham coverage through aetnastudenthealth.com to provide proof of comparable coverage, a student will need to have information about his or her current health insurance plan readily available. By waiving the Fordham coverage, a student is confirming the following:

  • The student is covered by the indicated medical insurance policy and will maintain coverage for the fall semester or the year.
  • The student has compared their policy to the Student Health Insurance Plan and certifies that their plan provides benefits that are at least comparable to the Student Health Insurance Plan.
  • The student’s plan provides reasonable comprehensive coverage of health services, including primary care, emergency services, surgical services, hospitalization benefits, ambulatory patient services, and mental health services, along with coverage for lab work, diagnostic x-rays, physical therapy, chiropractic care, and prescription coverage, and that these services are reasonably accessible in the area where the student is attending school.

Incomplete waivers would not be processed. Waivers must be completed every fall semester. Waivers are not carried over from previous years or semesters. All waivers must be submitted by September 10. Students who do not complete a waiver before the deadline will automatically be enrolled and charged for the semester in which the student is enrolled. Once the waiver is submitted, the charge will be removed from the student account. Students and authorized payers can verify the adjustment by logging in to fordham.edu ("My EBill") Students are responsible for verifying that their waiver was submitted correctly. Students will receive an email confirmation after completing the waiver application to confirm that the application is approved or denied. If you do not receive an email, please call Aetna Student Health at 866-381-1529, so they can confirm if the waiver has been submitted or not.

Providing insurance information to other offices on campus (e.g., Athletics, Health Services, online portal, and loan applications) does not fulfill the waiver requirement. If a student does not complete the waiver through www.aetnastudenthealth.com before the deadline, he or she will automatically be enrolled in and charged for the Student Health Insurance Plan.

International Students (F-1 or J-1)

International students can learn more about their insurance requirements at Fordham's Office of International Students Health Insurance. The deadline to complete the Insurance Registration Process is September 10. Please see the new changes to waive the student insurance plan below. 

Aetna Student Health offers on-call interpreters as well as translation services for plan documents. Language services information can be found at Aetna Student Health Language Services

Fordham University will no longer allow insurance companies that do not meet or exceed the limits offered by Fordham University’s Student Health Insurance Plan. This is to ensure that all international students are covered by a plan that is comparable and accessible to provide health coverage.

To meet these criteria you must:

  • Maintain other insurance coverage that is equal to or greater than the Student Health Insurance Plan benefits and with no additional exclusions.
  • The insurance company must be headquartered and operating in the US, with a US claims address and customer service telephone number.
  • The plan must be ACA compliant (Affordable Care Act) and the plan must provide inpatient hospitalization benefits in the New York City area, including mental health benefits. The plan must provide outpatient benefits in the New York City area (including office visits, outpatient mental health visits, and laboratory and radiology procedures). Coverage for emergency-only care does not satisfy the requirement.
  • The maximum benefit payable under the insurance plan must be unlimited. (no dollar limit) The insurance plan must include coverage for medical evacuation of at least USD $50,000 per year, repatriation of remains of at least USD $25,000 per year, and a deductible not to exceed USD $500 per year.

The following types of insurance plans will not be acceptable for waiving the Fordham plan:

  • The plan must be ACA-compliant for travel policies with limited benefits and exclusions of coverage.
  • Insurance plans always require students to pay for out-of-pocket treatment and then be reimbursed.
  • Plans advertised as ACA Comparable do not satisfy the waiver requirement

Dependent Enrollment

Insured students have the option of enrolling their eligible dependents (a spouse or a child under the age of 26). You may also enroll dependents online at www.aetnastudenthealth.com. Dependents must be enrolled for the same time period as the student. For example, a student enrolled beginning in the fall semester cannot purchase dependent coverage starting in the spring unless there is a qualifying life event (loss of coverage, new baby, marriage). Dependents enrolled for the fall must be re-enrolled for the spring and you are responsible for enrolling and re-enrolling your eligible dependents each semester. The deadline to enroll dependents is September 10, for the fall semester. Enrollment applications received after that date would not be accepted.

Enrollment after Waiving the Health Insurance Plan

After the waiver deadline, a student may enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan only on the basis of a qualifying life event. Qualifying life events include marriage, the birth of a child, or loss of coverage from an existing policy. Students who qualify may submit an email to [email protected] and the Insurance Compliance Administrator will email you a qualifying event form.

Financial Hardships

Students can contact the Student Health Insurance Coordinator in the event they or their families experience financial hardship and need to explore alternate avenues for coverage procurement.

Insurance Questions or Concerns

Insurance questions or concerns should be directed to Fordham University Insurance Coordinator Maritza Rivera-Garcia at [email protected] or you can reach me at 718-817-4164.