Student Health Services

SHIP Provides Best Medical Coverage

By Heather Pineda

Summer 2006 | As the fall semester approaches, now is the time for Cal students and their families to make an important health care decision for the coming academic year. As a requirement of enrollment, students must have major medical insurance coverage. Berkeley recommends that students meet that requirement through enrollment in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). Alternatively, students may substitute enrollment in a comparable plan.

SHIP currently provides more than 23,000 Berkeley students with outstanding coverage, including full medical, mental health, and dental benefits, at a fraction of the cost of comparable plans. Although students do not need SHIP to use the Tang Center, the state-of-the-art outpatient center housing the University Health Services, SHIP covers 80 percent of most fees at Tang, as well as off-campus services such as emergency care and hospitalization. The combination of UHS and SHIP is recommended as the best health coverage for students’ needs.

Students are enrolled in SHIP automatically, and the plan premium is charged on students’ campus billing statements. The rates for the 2006-07 academic year are $573 per semester for undergraduates and $729 for graduate students, about half the cost of comparable private plans. A student enrolled in SHIP for the fall and spring semesters receives 12 months of coverage anywhere in the world.

Students covered by another plan have the option to waive enrollment in SHIP. Those considering waiving can visit www.uhs.berkeley.edu/ShouldIWaive to learn if waiving SHIP coverage is the best option and to complete a waiver application. Waiver applications must be submitted online by August 15, 2006.

Continuing students will notice two changes to SHIP’s benefits this fall.  First, coverage for allergy testing and immunotherapy has increased from $500 to $1,000 per plan year. Second, prescriptions filled at the Tang Center Pharmacy will have a co-payment of $15 for generic medications and $25 for brand medications. The co-payment for three cycles of hormonal contraceptives will be $25.

For a complete list of SHIP benefits, go to www.uhs.berkeley.edu/students/insurance. SHIP staff members also are available to answer your questions; call 510/642-5700 or stop by the Health Insurance office on the third floor of the Tang Center.