Your ISSS Tip of the Week

Issue 8: Health Insurance

Greetings!

Health care services in the U.S. can be costly and unexpected expenses can be disruptive to your academic progress. It is important that you are covered by comprehensive health insurance and UMD requires all full time students to carry adequate health insurance.

Today's Tip: Health Insurance

The U.S. does not have comprehensive socialized health care as is available in many countries. In the U.S., health care and health insurance can be expensive. Health care refers to the services one receives from medical providers. Health insurance, largely privatized in the U.S., refers to the policy one purchases that helps to cover some of the costs associated with receiving health care.

All students who meet the following conditions will be automatically enrolled in UMD’s Student Health Insurance plan (SHIP). The annual premium will be charged to your student financial account.

F1 undergraduates registered for 6 or more credits

F1 graduate students enrolled in 48 or more units in a semester or 36 units in a 12 -week term

J1 exchange students

Spring 2024: All NEW students must enroll in SHIP or provide proof of adequate coverage by submitting a waiver. SHIP Open Enrollment: Dec 1, 2023-Feb 15, 2024

SHIP is administered by Academic HealthPlans (AHP). Communication about the insurance requirement and how to submit a waiver will be directly from the AHP email address (info4students@myahpcare.com) to your University of Maryland email account.

Please do not ignore these communications from AHP, especially if you have other acceptable insurance and are planning to submit a waiver.

Questions about the SHIP enrollment/waiver process should be directed to Academic HealthPlans Customer Service at help.ahpcare.com.

Students who decide to enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) must activate their plan on the AHP website. A few days after activation, United Healthcare will send an email with additional details, such as how to access the Insurance ID card, and how to navigate the UHR website. It's also a good idea to download the UHCSR app .

About the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP)

The University of Maryland SHIP insurance plan is a platinum level insurance plan.

The SHIP insurance carrier is United Healthcare.
The premium rate for spring semester is: $1358.00
The spring plan runs from 01/01/2024-07/31/2024. Date can not be adjusted.
You may begin using your insurance as early as January 1, 2023

When choosing insurance it is important to read information regarding the plan and what it covers. To learn more about the SHIP plan, please visit their website.

About the State of Maryland Employee Plan (Graduate Only)

The State of Maryland Employee Health Plan: Students who hold a graduate assistantship* are eligible to enroll in a State of Maryland Health Plan. This is different from SHIP. Enrollment in a State of Maryland Employee Health Plan is not automatic.

About 3-4 weeks after the GAship starts, GA's will receive an email from the state (from the Workday system) that will provide instructions on how to opt in to a State of Maryland health insurance plan. You have 60 days after your GA start date to opt in. More information about the State of Maryland plans can be found on the UMD Human Resources Benefits website.

** Please note, students who hold a graduate assistantship will need to choose either SHIP or the State of MD plan. If the State of MD plan is chosen, the graduate assistant must then submit a waiver for SHIP since you will be automatically enrolled.

Waiving the SHIP Plan

What if I do not want SHIP insurance?

Students who have an existing US based health insurance and do not want SHIP must provide proof of comparable insurance coverage and submit a waiver ONLINE at umd.myahpcare.com. If you were already charged for SHIP and the waiver was approved, it may take 5-7 business days for the insurance charge to be removed from your UMD financial account. You must follow the same waiver process every year you are at UMD, and you will receive notification annually.

All plans eligible for a waiver must be compliant with the Affordable Care Act and it must be underwritten in the United States.

To WAIVE SHIP Spring 2024:

Have an electronic copy of your current US based insurance card and your University of Maryland student ID.
Go to:https://umd.myahpcare.com/waiver
Select the 'Click Here to Waive or Enroll in Coverage’ link.
Log in to the system by using the following: Login – UMD ID (Ex:111234567) NOT your UMD directory ID/ Password – Date of Birth in MMDDYYYY format, unless previously changed. (Ex: 01011990)
Select the ‘Sign In” button.
On the home page, select the “WAVE” button from the “I Already Have Insurance” section.
Enter your insurance information and attach your required documentation.
Select the ‘Submit Waiver’ button at the bottom of the waiver form.

For step by step instructions view this helpful video.

Questions?

All waiver related questions and policy coverage questions should be directed to Academic HealthPlans Customer Service at help.ahpcare.com or the University Health Center SHIP Office at uhc-insurance@umd.edu.

Important Announcements

Winter Holiday Closure

ISSS is currently closed for the winter break from Friday, Dec 22 - Monday, Jan 1. We will reopen with normal hours and services on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

If you have an emergency during this time please follow standard University emergency procedures by contacting the University Police Department at 301-405-3555 or visiting the ISSS Safety and Emergency Resource page.

Have you completed your ISSS enrollment intent form?

On December 11th, ISSS launched the “Intent Form” All students who have I-20/DS-2019 with a Spring arrival date are required to complete this form. The form was added to ISSS iTerp checklist. If you haven’t completed this form, please login to iTerp.

The due date is December 20th!

Early Move-In

New international students who have an on-campus housing assignment may request an early move-in date. New international students who have an on-campus housing assignment may request an early move-in date of January 19th at 11AM or after.

Once housing assignments are released, students may request an early arrival via their Housing Portal by choosing Early Arrival Request. The requests will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and the students should continue to check the request in the Housing Portal for updates. Resident Life attempts to update the status within two business days, but as we get closer to opening staff may be in training sessions which delays the process, please apply early.

Engaging with ISSS

Connect with us

Ask your questions via our Live Chat, available on our website Monday-Friday from 9-11 a.m. ET.

Schedule a Virtual Appointment with an ISSS advisor. Appointments can be scheduled under newly admitted students Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET.

By email: isss-admissions@umd.edu

For important reminders and updates, and to keep aware of any upcoming events, please follow our office at our social media accounts!

Missed a Tip of the Week?

You can find previous Tips of the Week on our website by clicking here!

We hope that you find these emails informative and helpful. You are receiving

them because you have been accepted to the University of Maryland for the Spring 2024 semester. If you do not intend to enroll at UMD, please inform ISSS via your iTerp checklist, your department, and either the Graduate School (graduate students) or the undergraduate admissions office (undergraduate students-please fill out this form) that you decline your admission.