Mandatory students can waive the mandatory student health insurance plan if they are covered by an alternate insurance plan (i.e. individual, parent’s, or employer's) that meets the minimum requirements for comparable and adequate coverage mandated by the University System of Georgia.
Prior to submitting a waiver request, a mandatory student must be registered for classes. Waiver requests must be submitted during each semester waiver period. Waiver requests submitted after the waiver deadline will not be considered. Once you have submitted your waiver application, it can take up to 4 business days to be reviewed to determine if the waiver will be approved or denied. You will be notified at the email address you provided in the waiver application of your approval or denial of the waiver.
Waiver Approved
Once the waiver request has been approved by UnitedHealthcare, the student will receive an email confirmation of approval from UnitedHealthcare. Next, Student Accounts will apply a waiver (credit) to your account within 5 business days.
Waiver Denied
If your waiver request is denied and you wish to submit an appeal, you must submit your waiver appeal to United Healthcare Student Resources at: [email protected]. Appeals must include supporting documentation regarding your personal health insurance coverage. All correspondence must include the University/School Name, Student’s Name, and Student’s Panther ID. Please provide your confirmation of coverage (COC) from your insurance provider that confirms your dates of coverage and specifies the benefits that meet the school's requirements. Documentation must be in English.
Summer waiver dates: The waiver period for Fall Semester 2024 will open on July 5, 2024, and close on August 30, 2024. The coverage will begin on August 1, 2024, and end on December 31, 2024.
Failure to submit a waiver by the waiver close date will result in automatic enrollment into the University’s mandatory health Insurance plan (UnitedHealthcare). This means that you will be responsible for paying for the insurance charge that posts to your student account.
If payment for the mandatory insurance is not received by the waiver close date, then your classes will be dropped.
Information Required to Apply for a Waiver
Students waiving out of the mandatory student health insurance plan must provide complete policy information (insurance company name, address, website, and phone number; policy holder’s name and date of birth; policy number; group number and group name if applicable; policy dates of coverage, as well as information on the benefits provided by your plan) on the waiver form. You will not be able to complete a waiver request without this information.
Minimum Coverage Required to Waive Out of Mandatory Insurance
The University System of Georgia requires all students in the mandatory group to have reasonable, comparable, creditable coverage to the current system-wide student health insurance plan provided. The following benefits must be included in your plan to be considered for a waiver.
Effective for the 2020-2021 school year, there are new requirements for waiving out of the system-wide student health insurance plan. To be eligible to waive out of the USG SHIP, you must be enrolled in an ACA compliant plan. Your insurance provider can verify whether they are ACA compliant. To read more about the changes, click here and here's a list of frequently asked questions.
Domestic Students
International Students - F-1 and J-1 student or scholar statuses
*Federal Standards required for International Students
**To meet Federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements your health plan should have no annual benefit limits. (These requirements are based on the federally mandated requirements of the ACA.)
+Georgia mandates coverage for the following benefits to be paid as any other Sickness:
Mammography, PAP Smears, Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Tests, Chlamydia Screening, Mastectomy, Bone Mass Measurement, Colorectal Cancer Screening, Dental Anesthesia, Diabetes, Surveillance Tests for Ovarian Cancer, Telemedicine, Drug Treatment of Children’s Cancer, Bone Marrow Transplants, Postpartum Care, and Mental Illness
Information Required to Apply for a Waiver
Students waiving out of the mandatory student health insurance plan must provide complete policy information (Insurance company name, address, website and phone number; policy holder’s name and date of birth; policy number; group number and group name if applicable; policy dates of coverage, as well as information on the benefits provided by your plan) on the waiver form. You will not be able to complete a waiver request without this information.
Waivers are valid for one semester only!
Apply for the Mandatory Waiver