Understanding MSU Student Health Insurance: Requirements and Options

Maintaining good health is crucial for academic success and overall well-being. Midwestern State University (MSU) recognizes this and offers various resources and programs to support students' physical and mental health. This article provides a comprehensive overview of MSU's student health insurance requirements and available options, ensuring students can make informed decisions about their healthcare coverage.

Mandatory Health Insurance for Certain Students

MSU mandates health insurance for specific student groups. International, veterinary, and medical students are automatically enrolled in the MSU Aetna student health insurance plan. Additionally, any student taking 9 or more credits during the Fall or Spring Semester faces a Domestic Student Requirement and an International Student Requirement. These students are automatically enrolled in the University Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) and charged the semester premium.

The Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP)

The MSU Denver Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) is uniquely designed for MSU Denver students (regardless of immigration status) taking nine (9) or more credit hours in the Fall or Spring semesters. It is strongly recommended that all MSU students have good health insurance coverage.

Benefits of SHIP

SHIP provides comprehensive coverage designed to meet the needs of students, including:

Access to hundreds of hospitals and medical offices in Colorado and nationwide.
100% coverage for services received at the Health Center at Auraria.
24/7 access to telehealth and telebehavioral health care.
Support to make the healthcare process easier to understand with online tools, discount programs, and people you can talk to when you have to make important decisions, such as worldwide travel assistance.

When you are insured by SHIP, it’s helpful to read and understand Accessing Healthcare on SHIP.

Key Considerations for SHIP

It’s important to understand the requirement, assess the SHIP Benefits and know the Coverage Dates, Premiums & Deadlines so you can be informed about the Insurance Plan.

Opting Out of SHIP: The Waiver Process

Students who already have qualifying health insurance coverage can opt out of SHIP by submitting a health insurance waiver by the deadline each semester. To waive coverage, students need to create their own account in Academic HealthPlans (AHP). Automatically enrolled students are sent to AHP by MSU. Important Note: Students must submit a waiver request to AHP each semester.

Waiver Considerations for Medicaid Members

Students who have active Medicaid, First Health Colorado, Denver Health Medicaid, or Colorado Access, should submit the waiver before the deadline to opt-out of SHIP, otherwise the SHIP plan will default as primary insurance and any Financial Aid refund could be impacted when an approved waiver is not on file.

Waiver Eligibility for Specific Programs

COM, CHM and VetMed students can currently waive out of the SHIP plan through the waiver process. Note: Graduate assistants, medical, and international students auto-enrolled in SHIP should not create an AHP account. Please review the general eligibility and enrollment information. Medical students are automatically enrolled in the student health insurance plan.

Alternative Health Insurance Options

Students who do not want to enroll in SHIP have several alternative options to explore:

Read also: U of U Student Health Plan

MSU Student Aetna: This plan is offered through the MSU Benefits Office and provides great national coverage at a competitive price.
Connect for Health Colorado: This is Colorado’s official health Insurance Marketplace, where students can explore and compare other health insurance options to SHIP.
Estimated Cost and Savings Tool: This tool helps estimate savings upfront on the Marketplace and determine eligibility for financial assistance.
Healthy Michigan Plan: The Healthy Michigan Plan is a low-cost plan that provides health care benefits to Michigan residents at a low cost so that more people can have health care coverage.

Accessing Healthcare at MSU

MSU provides various on-campus resources to support students' health and well-being:

University Health and Wellbeing Campus Health Services at Olin Health Center: MSU recommends students seek care through University Health and Wellbeing Campus Health Services at Olin Health Center first. Campus Health Services charges for most services and are similar to what is charged in the community.
Campus Health Services: The MSU Aetna policy covers most health expenses at Olin. The only costs through Campus Health Services are co-payments for office visits, prescriptions, psychiatry visits, and physical therapy sessions. There is a charge, co-payment, and deductible for services referred outside of Campus Health Services.
Free Visits: All enrolled students are eligible for three free (included in the cost of your tuition) visits per academic year. While Campus Health Services can assist with minor illness or injury through the use of three free (included as part of tuition) visits available each academic year to enrolled students, uninsured students who experience a severe injury or illness may find themselves with financial hardship. Insurance is strongly recommended for all students.

Mental Health Resources

MSU recognizes the importance of mental health and offers a range of counseling services:

Counseling Center: Students can meet one-on-one with therapists or participate in group counseling sessions. Past topics have included men's and women's issues, friendship building, and drug and alcohol issues.
TimelyCare: Midwestern State University is now partnered with TimelyCare to deliver a new virtual health and well-being platform for students.
Personalized Support: Counseling is not a one-size-fits-all medium. Where one person may find comfort and support in a group setting, another may be hesitant to speak openly about their personal concerns.
Career Counseling: Students can meet with a therapist to determine their priorities influenced by their personality traits, interests, and values.

Additional Support Programs

MSU offers various programs to support students' overall well-being and academic success:

Scholastic Support Program: This program provides students with someone to check in with for more accountability.
Wellness Center: Students can participate in intramural sports and other wellness activities.
Time-Management and Study Habit Programming: Various programs and offices across campus offer time-management and study habit programming, including the Mustangs Adventure, College Connections, TRiO Student Support Services, Tutoring & Academic Support Programs, Redwine Honors, Priddy Scholars, and so many more.

Safety and Security

MSU is committed to fostering a safe and inclusive campus environment:

Title IX Department: This department offers a range of essential resources, support, and information related to Title IX.
Campus Safety: Creating and maintaining a safe campus community is not solely the responsibility of the police department. It takes collaboration - a combined effort from each of us - to help keep our community safe.

Navigating Health Insurance

MSU provides resources to help students understand and manage their health insurance:

Read also: UVA Health Insurance Requirements

Digital ID Card: Access your digital ID card for easy access to your insurance information.
Health Insurance Education: Learn key terms, get answers to common questions, and watch helpful videos to understand how health insurance works.

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