Student Medical Insurance Mandate
Health insurance is vital to ensuring access to care and predictable health care costs, as well as aiding students in the achievement of their personal and academic goals. That is why CMU requires students to have medical insurance that meets university requirements each academic year, either through enrolling in the CMU Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) or obtaining a SHIP waiver.
- All full-time students who are physically located in the U.S. must have medical insurance that meets university requirements; certain programs also require this of their part-time students.
- If your insurance meets university requirements, you may apply to waive the CMU SHIP.
- If you do not have insurance that meets university requirements, you must enroll in the medical SHIP. CMU also offers optional vision and dental insurance plans.
- By default, a SHIP placeholder fee is posted to your student account, until you complete Open Enrollment.
- If you do not take action to enroll in or waive the CMU SHIP during your open enrollment period, you will be auto-enrolled in the medical SHIP when the open enrollment period ends.
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment is the period during which students must enroll in or waive the SHIP. Each academic year, students are required to enroll in the CMU medical SHIP or obtain an approved waiver. Students must complete their SHIP enrollment or waiver application in the insurance portal in Student Information Online (SIO). Students who do not complete an enrollment or receive an approved waiver during Open Enrollment are auto-enrolled in the medical SHIP.
- By default, a placeholder charge for the CMU SHIP is posted on the student account. During Open Enrollment, the placeholder charge does not indicate a SHIP enrollment.
- Students who apply for and receive an approved waiver will have the placeholder charge credited back to their account.
- Students who enroll in the SHIP will have the placeholder charge credited back to their account and will have the insurance premium fees posted to their account, for the insurance plans they enroll in (medical, dental, and/or vision).
- Students who do not enroll in or waive the SHIP during Open Enrollment will be auto-enrolled in the individual medical SHIP, and the charge will remain on their account.
- Optional dental and vision plans are available during a student’s open enrollment period.