Student Health Insurance
Effective Fall 2023 (August 15, 2023), the student health insurance plan is through Aetna and serviced by Academic HealthPlans, Inc. More information about the UCF Student Health Plan can be found on the Academic HealthPlans website at https://ucf.mycare26.com/.
UCF pays the premiums for health insurance coverage for qualifying university fellows and graduate assistants with appointments totaling 20 hours per week. To qualify for enrollment in the coverage, students must maintain the assistantship or fellowship during the semester associated with the coverage period(s) and be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking graduate program. See https://graduate.ucf.edu/health-insurance/ for more information.
Contact and Process
For all university fellowship students ([email protected]), the Graduate College will handle all communications to the students and enroll them in health insurance coverage.
For all assistantship students ([email protected]), the Graduate College will send communications via email to students who qualify for this coverage, asking them to make a decision about their health insurance coverage.
Requirements for Health Insurance Coverage
Graduate assistants must meet the following requirements to receive health insurance:
- Fulfill their assistantship appointment(s)
- Maintain full-time enrollment in the Fall and Spring terms in which they are covered and good academic standing in their degree program. Summer enrollment is not required if the student is covered in the Spring term.
- One full assistantship (0.50 FTE, 20 hours per week) or two half assistantships (each must be at least 0.25 FTE, 10 hours per week) in these assistantship job codes:
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- Graduate Research Associate 1104
- Graduate Research Assistant 1105
- Graduate Assistant 1108
- Graduate Teaching Associate 1106
- Graduate Teaching Assistant 1107
- Graduate Teaching Grader 1109
- Full Resident (“in-state”) tuition remission either by waiver or department/project payment
- Stipend amount commensurate with previous appointment averages in the program (must be at least the university minimum stipend level of $6,600 for the Fall/Spring period)
A single half (10 hours per week) assistantship does not qualify for health insurance coverage. Also, no assistantship less than half (10 hours per week, .25 FTE) can be counted in the appointments to qualify a student for health insurance coverage.
International Students and Health Insurance Coverage
The State of Florida requires international students to have health insurance coverage that meets the state’s specific criteria, and the UCF Student Health Insurance Plan meets these requirements. UCF places a registration hold on international students that is released only upon documentation of adequate health insurance coverage. For international students receiving paid student health insurance as part of their financial package, the College of Graduate Studies will request adjustment of the health insurance hold from Health Services.
Here are the things the Graduate College will do to help these students register:
- Qualifying Fellowship students will have their health insurance holds adjusted after they accept the insurance coverage.
- Qualifying Assistantship students with Fall assistantship agreements in Ready for Hire/ePAF status in the Graduate Financials System by July 15 will have their health insurance records loaded in People Soft and the hold will be adjusted once they accept the insurance coverage.
- Assistantship students who do not have assistantship agreements in Ready for Hire/ePAF status in the Graduate Financials System by July 15 will have their health insurance holds adjusted once their assistantship agreements are fully approved by UCF Human Resources. If there is an immediate need to have a health insurance hold adjusted, programs should send notice of qualifying support and a request to adjust the health insurance hold to [email protected]. Programs should tell their students to allow 2-3 business days for the hold to be adjusted.
Coverage
The coverage is the Hard Waiver Plan through Aetna and serviced by Academic HealthPlans, Inc. More information about the UCF Student Health Plan can be found on the Academic HealthPlans website at https://ucf.mycare26.com/. Navigate to Benefits and select Plan Highlight Flyers then the Hard Waiver Students Flyer for the details related to the plan. The Summary of Benefits and Coverage can also be found in the Benefits section on their website.
Additional resources to help students understand the coverage and benefits are provided under the Get Help section of AHP’s website. Visit https://ucf.mycare26.com/contact for AHP’s contact information.
A student is covered for each term that he/she has a qualifying assistantship or fellowship. Assistants and fellows who qualify in Spring will also receive Summer coverage.
Students are required to Accept or Decline the health insurance offered by submitting the Health Insurance eForm in their myUCF Student Center. The College of Graduate Studies only enrolls students in health insurance coverage if they accept it.
Fall coverage: August 15-December 31
Spring-Summer coverage: January 1-August 14
Students starting a qualifying assistantship or fellowship in the summer will receive summer health insurance coverage, from May 1 to August 14.
More Information about Health Insurance
Health Insurance webpage for students: https://graduate.ucf.edu/health-insurance
Academic HealthPlans: https://ucf.mycare26.com/