Health Insurance Requirements

Students and visiting scholars have the option of enrolling in the USD International Health Insurance plan, coordinated through USD’s provider Gallagher Koster. Please refer to the resources below to familiarize yourself with the USD International Health Insurance plan:

*Please Note: U.S. permanent residents and individuals on non-student visas (including the H-1B visa) are not eligible to enroll in the USD International Health Insurance plan.

Fall 2018 Waiver Deadline: Friday, September 14, 2018

Students who choose to waive the USD health insurance requirement must do so at the start of each academic year (or their first semester at USD if starting in the Spring or upon arrival if a visiting scholar). Without submitting the online health insurance waiver each year, USD cannot waive the health insurance fee.  Therefore, students who fail to submit the waiver by the posted deadline will be automatically enrolled and billed via their USD student account.

Students and visiting scholars may choose to waive the USD health insurance requirement with a comparable insurance plan only if this plan includes ALL of the following features:

• Effective throughout the semester/academic year
• Maximum dollar coverage of at least $100,000 per illness or injury (not the same as $100,000 maximum benefit)
• Include outpatient care (doctor visits, outpatient surgery, etc.)
• Include hospitalization
• Repatriation for at least $25,000
• Medical evacuation for at least $50,000
• Cost of deductible, if any, does not exceed $500 per accident or illness

Note for J-1 Students and Scholars: J-1 students and visiting scholars who wish to waive must also submit a copy of their health insurance certificate in English, which demonstrates the aforementioned features.  A letter from the insurance company would also be acceptable (please refer to this sample). Individuals who fail to do so at least 30 days before the date of their arrival to USD will automatically be enrolled in the USD international health insurance plan. J-1 scholars are not subject to the online waiver form but still must submit a copy of their insurance certificate.

Note for Athletes: Student athletes participating in club or NCAA sports are NOT eligible to waive the USD health insurance requirement and therefore must enroll in the USD International Health Insurance Plan, which includes special provisions for athletes.

Note for Students with Embassy-Sponsored Plans: Students with embassy/cultural mission-sponsored health insurance plans are not required to complete the online waiver but must provide the OISS a copy of a financial guarantee or embassy insurance card at the time of immigration check-in.

Foreign Insurance Plans: Please review this list of insurance companies that have been used by former USD international students to waive the USD International Health Insurance plan. Since we are not affiliated with any of these companies, we make no guarantee for their services. This list was assembled solely for the consideration of students who wish to waive the USD International Health Insurance plan.

Students who have been issued and I-20 or DS-2019 can waive the USD International Health Insurance plan now.

To access the online waiver, please follow the instructions below:

• Gather all insurance documents - this information is required to fill out the online waiver
• Visit the Gallagher website to create an account (Note: a USD Student ID number is required to create an account)
• Click on "Student Waiver Form” on the left side panel and fill out personal information to create an account
• Click on "Student Waiver Form" again and select “Waiver Form”
• Answer all questions and click submit to complete the waiver
• Print Confirmation Page
• Student accounts are automatically billed for the USD International Health Insurance plan each semester. However, once the online waiver is complete and the USD International Center receives a report documenting this information, the insurance charges on the account will be reversed. Please note that this process may take up to 2 weeks.

Students enrolled in the USD international health insurance will remain enrolled during their study abroad program to maintain continuous coverage unless a waiver is completed by the semester’s waiver deadline.

Note that students studying abroad in their home country (example: a Korean student studying abroad at a Korean exchange university) are excluded from this and must complete the online waiver for their term abroad if their country has been deemed by Aetna as having “socialized medicine”. This rule is applicable to the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. These students can re-enroll in the USD international health plan for the semester following their study abroad completion. 

If in the past you waived the USD health insurance with your own coverage, you are responsible for submitting the online waiver form for the current academic year.