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 U-SHIP premium is billed on your student account in three installments, generally on the Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarterly bills. Please note, you will be automatically assessed a health insurance fee on your Bursar bill the first quarter you are registered in the academic year (see billing cycle info below); this does not mean you've enrolled/confirmed your coverage in U-SHIP. The fee will only be removed if you successfully complete a waiver. Regardless of which quarter a student enters the University, the Spring Quarter premium provides coverage from the start of Spring Quarter through August 31. Students whose first quarter of enrollment is Summer Quarter will be billed for that period’s premium on their Summer bill.

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 are no longer in an eligible status or who are no longer actively registered in their program will have their U-SHIP coverage terminated at the conclusion of the last quarter in which they were actively enrolled in their program.  (See below for information on continuation coverage.)

However, any student or dependent 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 their ineligibility becomes effective.  U-SHIP premiums are non-refundable if a student or dependent 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.

• 2023-2024 U-SHIP User Guide
• 2023-2024 U-SHIP Summary Brochure
• 2023-2024 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. Contact Student Wellness for more information.

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 ($402 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 Student Resources.

Please check back on this site for updates on Early Arrival insurance options for August 2024.

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.