SUNY New Paltz requires full-time students to have health insurance; this is further explained on the Student Accounts Web site. This site explains that students with 12 credits are billed for the College's health insurance plan, offered through UnitedHealthcare Student Resources. Students may waive this policy only by completing a waiver form and submitting it to the Student Accounts Office. Students doing so must have another form of health insurance. The waiver deadline for fall is September 9, 2011, for spring it is February 3, 2012.
Students with 9 credits are eligible to enroll in the Student insurance plan by request. Requests should be made through Student Accounts by the end of the 2nd week of the semester.
The Student Insurance Plan is managed by Collegiate Insurance Resources (CIR). Their website has information on our student Plan as well as other insurance and discount programs for dental coverage, vision coverage, fire and theft coverage, etc. You can also request a replacement health insurance card from their Web site. They also offer a discount program for $29 a year that provides discounts on dental, vision, prescriptions, chiropractic care, alternative medicine, hearing, fitness program, and nutritional supplements and vitamins. This discount program is offered through Best Benefits. For more information view the Best Benefit Discount Program on the Web.
It is important to remember that the services that are covered by your Plan and the benefits that are paid for those services are described in the blue student health insurance brochure. To view a copy of the brochure click on the insurance brochure link above. The policy is a limited benefit Plan and does not cover all services. For example, your plan does not cover the cost of eyeglasses. Some benefits have limitations. To go to the emergency room there is a $75 copay that the student will have to pay this year.
The Plan utilizes a preferred provider organization (PPO) to hold down student costs. The PPO that is utilized is UnitedHealthcare Options PPO. UnitedHealthcare (UHC) offers a national network of physicians, hospitals and other providers, having over 500,000 providers under contract throughout the country. Please note that even though you may find a provider on their website, this does not guarantee that the services those providers may give you would be covered under the Plan. You should always ask the provider if they still continue to participate in the UnitedHealthcare Options PPO, as providers sometimes discontinue their participation in PPO’s. To see what providers may be in UHC’s PPO network, you can visit their Web site, or you may call them at 1-800-767-0700.
For questions about your coverage, please contact UnitedHealthcare Student Resources at 1-800-767-0700. Our policy number is 2011-200184-1.
