Health Center: Student Insurance

Health insurance is mandatory for all full-time undergraduate, graduate, and international students taking 6 or more credits at Fordham University. The health insurance charge is automatically billed to each student’s account. To assist students with managing this requirement, Aetna has been selected to administer the Student Health Insurance Plan. Students may waive the Fordham University SHIP plan by providing proof of alternate coverage that satisfies the following requirements:

  1. Plan must satisfy minimum benefit requirements of the Affordable Care Act, and New York State, and
  2. Plan must provide coverage in the immediate region of Fordham’s campus, and
  3. The plan must be in force for the full period for which the student will attend classes, and
  4. Plan’s carrier must be a U.S.-based insurance company. Students who have alternative comparable health insurance coverage can waive out of Fordham's Student Health Insurance Plan. 

Please submit your online waiver at www.aetnastudenthealth.com. The website is slated to open mid-June. All health insurance waiver requests will be reviewed by Aetna within three (3) business days. If a waiver is approved, an email confirmation will be sent to the student, and the charge on the Student's banner account will be removed. Please allow 3-5 business days for the charge to be reversed. If a waiver is denied, an email notification will be sent stating the reason for the denial. The charge will remain on the student account until an approved waiver has been received. The deadline to submit the health insurance waiver and all required supplements is August 22, 2026.

2026-2027 Insurance rates TBD.

Alternatively, students can enroll in the plan. You can download your insurance card and review your benefits by logging in to www.aetnastudenthealth.com. The plan is effective August 23 through August 22 each year (assuming registration requirements are met).

Learn about Student Health Insurance

Part-time graduate students and PCS students taking 5 credits or fewer

Graduate, Law, and Dissertation students carrying 5 or fewer credits, as well as students enrolled in Gabelli online programs with four semester starts each calendar year, and PCS students, may purchase coverage voluntarily. Students do not have to do a waiver. Students can go online and choose the part-time student plan. The student will not be charged for the insurance on their student account. The student will have to pay with a credit card.

Dental Plan Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) – Preventive

Students are eligible to enroll in the Voluntary Dental Plan offered through Aetna. The website is aetnastudenthealth.com. The plan is a preventive PPO plan. The plan only covers cleaning xrays. No major restorative procedures are covered. The cost of the plan is $375 for the year. The coverage is from 8/23/2026-8/22/2027. The enrollment deadline is 08/22/2026 for the fall term and 02/20/2027 for the spring term. Please click on the link for the dental plan details

Vision

Vision coverage is not included in the plan.

https://www.aetnastudenthealth.com/schools/fordham/pdbsPPO2425.pdf

International Students (F-1 or J-1)

International students can learn more about their insurance requirements at Fordham's Office of International Students' Health Insurance. The deadline to complete the Insurance Registration Process is August 22. Please see the new changes to waive the student insurance plan below. 

Aetna Student Health offers on-call interpreters and translation services for plan documents. Language services information can be found at Aetna Student Health Language Services

Fordham University will no longer allow insurance companies that do not meet or exceed the limits offered by Fordham University’s Student Health Insurance Plan. This is to ensure that all international students are covered by a comparable, accessible plan.

To meet these criteria, you must:

  • Maintain other insurance coverage that is equal to or greater than the Student Health Insurance Plan benefits, with no additional exclusions.
  • The insurance company must be headquartered and operating in the US, with a US claims address and customer service telephone number.
  • The plan must be ACA-compliant (Affordable Care Act) and provide inpatient hospitalization benefits in the New York City area, including mental health benefits. The plan must provide outpatient benefits in the New York City area (including office visits, outpatient mental health visits, and laboratory and radiology procedures). Emergency-only coverage does not satisfy the requirement.
  • The maximum benefit payable under the insurance plan must be unlimited. (no dollar limit) The insurance plan must include coverage for medical evacuation of at least USD $50,000 per year, repatriation of remains of at least USD $25,000 per year, and a deductible not to exceed USD $500 per year.
  • Aetna does not allow students to waive the school insurance in favor of insurance from their homeland. 

The following types of insurance plans will not be acceptable for waiving the Fordham plan:

  • The plan must be ACA-compliant for travel policies with limited benefits and coverage exclusions.
  • Insurance plans always require students to pay out of pocket for treatment and then be reimbursed.
  • Plans advertised as ACA Comparable do not satisfy the waiver requirement

Dependent/Spouse Enrollment

Insured students have the option of enrolling their eligible dependents (a spouse or a child under the age of 26). You may also enroll dependents online at www.aetnastudenthealth.com. Dependents must be enrolled for the same period as the student. For example, a student enrolled beginning in the fall semester cannot purchase dependent coverage starting in the spring unless there is a qualifying life event (loss of coverage, new baby, marriage). Dependents enrolled for the fall must be re-enrolled for the spring, and you are responsible for enrolling and re-enrolling your eligible dependents each semester. The deadline to enroll dependents is August 22 for the fall semester. Enrollment applications received after that date would not be accepted.

Enrollment after Waiving the Health Insurance Plan

After the waiver deadline, a student may enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan only based on a qualifying life event. Qualifying life events include marriage, the birth of a child, or the loss of coverage from an existing policy. Students who qualify may submit an email to [email protected], and the Insurance Compliance Administrator will email you a qualifying event form.

SHIP POLICY AND PLAN DETAILS 

  • [2025-2026 Plan Design and Benefits Summary](Link Here): Detailed information on covered services, deductibles, premium rates, and enrollment/waiver deadlines.

  • [2025 Aetna Pharmacy Drug Guide](Link Here): Information on specific pharmaceutical drug coverage under the Advanced Control Plan.

  • [Provider Search Directory](Link Here): Use this online tool to find participating doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies in our network.

  • [Member Resources](Link Here): Additional tools and perks available to plan members.

  • [Print Insurance Card] (Link Here): Insurance card website.

Insurance Questions or Concerns

Insurance questions or concerns should be directed to Fordham University Insurance Coordinator Maritza Rivera-Garcia at [email protected] or at 718-817-4164.