Skip Navigation • NU Site Map • Campus Map/Directions • Financial Aid • myNEU • NU Home

Northeastern University Student Health Plan (NUSHP) Enrollment Dates and Costs

2007–2008 Academic Year

• General Information
• Effective Dates and Cost
• Waiver Deadlines
• Enrolling in NUSHP after waiving
• General NUSHP benefit information
• NUSHP Summary of Benefits

General Information

Since September 1989, Massachusetts law, (G. L. c. 15A: ß. 18.), has required every full-time and part-time student enrolled in a Massachusetts institution of higher learning to participate in a qualifying student health insurance program (QSHIP) or in a health benefit plan with comparable coverage. For QSHIP requirements, a part-time student is defined as a student enrolled in at least 75% of the full-time curriculum. (SPCS Undergraduate Students 11 credits, SPCS Graduate 7 credits, Part time Engineering 12 credits, Part-time Graduate students 6 credits)

Massachusetts law has been revised to include the following important clarifications:

1. A health plan that provides coverage through a closed network of providers (for example, coverage by an HMO) and which is accessible only for emergency services where the student is studying is not comparable coverage. Students may not waive the NUSHP based on such a plan.
2. Students studying in the United States may not waive insurance based on coverage through insurance carriers owned and operated outside the United States, nor with coverage through foreign National Health Service programs. Students sponsored by foreign embassies, agencies and organizations are no longer excluded from the requirement for U.S.-based health insurance.
3. Free Care is not considered comparable coverage and cannot be used to waive NUSHP.

The burden of proof that the alternative insurance is adequate falls upon the student choosing to waive. By submitting the waiver form the student will be accepting responsibility for all medical expenses incurred, and neither Northeastern University nor its student health plan will be responsible for these expenses. Eligible students may waive NUSHP via myNEU once they have been billed for NUSHP.

Effective Dates and Cost

NUSHP plans are effective the term that a student meets the minimum qualifications outlined by the State of Massachusetts. Students with a comparable domestic insurance plan are given the opportunity to waive NUSHP the term they meet the qualifications—see Waiver Deadlines. Also, see Petitioning to Enroll regarding enrolling in NUSHP after waiving and/or enrolling spouse/dependent(s).

Once enrolled in the plan it is for the full policy period indicated below. After the waiver deadline, the premium is not adjusted if a student decides to pick up another policy.

Monthly Rates (restricted)
The following rates apply to the specific eligible populations required to be on campus prior to the start of their program’s standard academic year. Those who are eligible for the early arrival rate must complete the Petition to Enroll form.

Note
*Graduate, SPCS, and PTE students will also be charged the Health Center fee. If a student waives the Health Plan, the Health Plan fee and Health Center fee will be reversed, and the student will not have access to services at the University Health and Counseling Center (UHCS). Students can request access to the UHCS only by completing the UHCS Access Request Form. Visit the UHCS Web site for additional information on services provided at the center.

Rates for spouse and children are added to the student rate (e.g. $6,390 for an annual policy for student and spouse; $9,420 for an annual policy for student, spouse, and children).

Waiver Deadlines

Eligible students may waive NUSHP via myNEU once they have been billed for NUSHP. Print a copy of the confirmation page and deduct the Health Plan Fee and if applicable the UHCS Fee amount from your balance due.

Disciplinary action maybe taken if a student knowingly waives NUSHP without comparable coverage.

Enrolling in NUSHP after Waiving

Spouse/Dependents
Students enrolled in NUSHP may choose to purchase the same plan for their spouse/dependent(s). To enroll, students will need to complete the Spouse/Dependent Health Plan Enrollment Form and submit it to Student Accounts office with proper documentation, i.e., marriage license and/or birth certificate.

Qualified Late Enrollment
Qualified Event: Loss of job, aged off existing health plan, change of job

Students who, due to a qualifying event, need to enroll in NUSHP after they have waived may do so by completing the Petition to Enroll Form. Completed forms with supporting documentation from provider are submitted to the Student Accounts office. These forms must be submitted within thirty days from the date the existing coverage ends. If submission is beyond the thirty day period, it would be considered an unqualified late enrollment.

Unqualified Late Enrollment
Unqualified Event: More than 30 days has passed since existing coverage has ended, current coverage is not adequate, personal choice to change plans.

Students who, due to an unqualified event, wish to enroll in NUSHP after they have waived may do so by completing the Petition to Enroll Form. Coverage under NUSHP will be limited to emergency care only for 6 months. Disciplinary action maybe taken if a student knowingly waives NUSHP without comparable coverage.