The University requires all registered students to carry adequate health insurance to cover, among other costs, hospitalization and outpatient diagnostic, testing and surgical procedures. Additionally, the insurance must cover medical care provided in the Chicago area for both emergency and routine, non-emergency medical situations (or, if the student will not be in Chicago, it must provide this coverage wherever the student will be residing and studying during the academic year). In keeping with this requirement, each year all students registered in an insurance-required program are enrolled in the University Student Health Insurance Plan (U-SHIP). Students wishing to waive out of U-SHIP coverage must review the comparable coverage checklist and affirm possession of alternate comparable coverage before the enrollment/waiver deadline.

Students who do not enroll in or waive the student insurance plan by the deadline will by default be enrolled in U-SHIP and remain enrolled in U-SHIP through the end of the plan year, and thus will be responsible for the annual premium, which is billed quarterly.

Effective 9/1/21, U-SHIP enrollment is required for all PhD students at the University of Chicago. As such, PhD students are not eligible to waive U-SHIP with comparable coverage. Individual student premiums will be paid for PhD students at no cost to them.

For further details on the policy, please refer to the Student Manual.

To waive U-SHIP, students must affirm that they have insurance that meets the University’s comparable coverage requirements.

The decision to enroll (including dependents and automatic enrollment by default) or waive U-SHIP coverage is binding for the remaining plan year, with the following exceptions:

• Students who graduate at the end of Autumn or Winter quarters will have their U-SHIP coverage terminated at the conclusion of the quarter in which they graduate.  (See below for information on continuation coverage.)
• Students who withdraw, take an approved leave of absence (LOA), or change to any other status that makes them U-SHIP ineligible, will have their U-SHIP coverage terminated (with the exception of students taking a Parental Relief Leave of Absence, which need not affect U-SHIP coverage, or those on a Medical Leave of Absence). Upon return from a U-SHIP ineligible status, students will need to enroll/waive U-SHIP for the remainder of the plan, even if they had waived U-SHIP earlier in the plan year.  Such students are required to enroll/waive U-SHIP before the third Friday of the quarter in which they return.
• If a student’s registration status is changed to LOA or any other ineligible status at any point after 5 p.m. Central time on Friday of the third week of the quarter and the student was covered by U-SHIP up to the date of the leave, then even though the LOA or change in status is backdated effective to the start of the quarter, U-SHIP coverage will remain in place through the end of the quarter in which the LOA or change in status was processed, with any assessment for premium remaining in effect. 
• Furthermore, any student who made a claim on their U-SHIP plan during a particular quarter must remain in U-SHIP for the remainder of that quarter, regardless of when the leave of absence or ineligibility becomes effective.  U-SHIP premiums are non-refundable if a student has made claims on the plan at any point during that quarter, nor are premiums pro-ratable. 

• If your first quarter is Autumn, you will be assessed three installments on your Bursar bill (Autumn, Winter, Spring quarters).
• If you first quarter is Winter, you will be assessed two installments on your Bursar bill (Winter and Spring).
• If your first quarter is Spring, you will be assessed one installment on your Bursar bill (Spring).
• U-SHIP coverage continues through to August 31st but students do not pay a summer premium unless summer is your FIRST and/or ONLY quarter of registration at the University.

The chart below indicates which quarters your student account will be charged, based on the first quarter you are registered:

The University Student Health Insurance Plan (U-SHIP) is underwritten by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company and is administered by UnitedHealthcare Student Resources. More information about benefits and coverage can be found at the below links.

• 2024-2025 U-SHIP User Guide
• 2024-2025 U-SHIP Summary Brochure
• 2024-2025 U-SHIP Policy Certificate (Master Policy)

​SUMMARY

For definition of these terms, see the Health Insurance Glossary at studentinsurance.uchicago.edu.

Due to an Illinois Department of Insurance mandate eliminating referral requirements for insurance plans like U-SHIP that are considered “Preferred Provider Organizations” (PPOs), effective September 1, 2022:

• U-SHIP enrollees are not required to obtain a referral from UChicago Student Wellness for medical or psychotherapy services outside of Student Wellness.
• Eligible students are encouraged to continue to visit Student Wellness for primary care, psychiatry, health promotion, or short-term psychotherapy, and for recommendations on specialty care.  Accessing Student Wellness is a great option for students who need timely access to high-quality care at no additional cost.  For the list of services provided by Student Wellness visit: https://wellness.uchicago.edu/about/services
• U-SHIP enrollees are eligible for the special $10/visit copay (coinsurance and deductible do not apply) for psychotherapy with providers on the Student Wellness Community Provider List (CPL). To search for a provider on the CPL click on the UHCSR site for the University of Chicago, then in the “Find Providers” drop down you can search for a provider on the Community Provider List.  (The CPL is a separate list from UHC’s in-network option “Live and Work Well” through Optum Behavioral Health).

Students who are no longer eligible for U-SHIP, (due to graduation or not returning in a U-SHIP eligible status) may enroll in Continuation Coverage for up to 3 months, provided they were enrolled in U-SHIP for 6 consecutive months before becoming ineligible. Students must enroll within 31 days of their current coverage expiring, and may purchase one month at a time ($410 per month). Payment is made directly to UnitedHealthcare StudentResources.  

Students who purchase Continuation Coverage are not eligible to visit UChicago Student Wellness. 

To enroll in Continuation Coverage, view My Coverage in your UnitedHealthcare MyAccount. If you have questions please contact the Student Insurance Office at 773-834-4543 (press option 2) or email uchicagoadvocates@uhcsr.com.

Students who arrive on campus before the beginning of the University's Autumn Quarter may have a gap between their matriculation date and the start of the U-SHIP, which begins on September 1. For students who want/need health insurance during the month of August, there is the OPTION of enrolling in coverage directly with UnitedHealthcare StudentResources.

The dates of coverage and rates are as follows:

Option 1: August 1-31, $417/student

Option 2: August 19-31, $175/student

For questions about Early Arrival enrollment, please contact the student insurance advocates at 773.834.4543 (Option 2) or uchicagoadvocates@uhcsr.com

All students who are enrolled in U-SHIP have access to the UnitedHealthcare Student Resources (UHCSR) My Account, where they can view their benefits, manage their claims and balances, view their ID card, and more.

Please login using the new link, My Account. Please see the attachment for assistance with the new login process.