Insurance for Graduate Student Fellows

Graduate Student Fellows (GSF) have a few options when it comes to healthcare coverage for themselves and their eligible dependents. As a currently registered graduate student, you also have access to University Health Services regardless of your insurance enrollment.

Student Health Insurance Plan - Academic Blue

The first option is to enroll in the medical, dental, and vision plans offered through the student health insurance program, Academic Blue. All GSFs are eligible to enroll in:

• The Academic Blue Medical Voluntary plan is underwritten by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and provides comparable benefits to the university's employee medical plan, at a more fellow friendly price.
• If you enroll in the Academic Medical plan, you may also choose to enroll in the BlueCare Dental plan. BlueCare covers the most used preventive services, and by using its large network of participating dentists, you will save money on exams, cleanings, fillings, and crowns. For more information about the cost of BlueCare Dental, please visit the Academic Blue Cost Sheet webpage.
• Regardless of whether you enroll in the Academic Blue Medical plan, you may purchase an Individual Vision Care Plan offered through VSP. VSP covers eyewear, contacts, and eyes exams at an affordable price from a large network of vision care providers. For more information, including coverage and cost, please visit the VSP Individual Vision Care Plan webpage.

Enrollment

To enroll in the student health insurance plans, please visit the Academic Blue Enrollment webpage, and complete your enrollment by the enrollment deadline listed on the site. For additional information or questions, please refer to the Academic Blue website or contact Academic Blue Customer Service.

Fellows Currently Enrolled in Employee Insurance Plans

If you are currently enrolled in any of the university's employee insurance plans, and you opt to enroll in a student health insurance plan instead, you must take action to terminate your current coverage. For additional information, please refer to our Change of Status webpage.

International Students

If you are an international student, you will be automatically enrolled in the Academic Blue Medical Insurance Plan. For more information, please visit the Texas Global Insurance webpage.

Employee Health Insurance Plan - UT Select

The second option is to enroll in the university's medical, dental, and vision plans. To enroll in the employee plans, you must be a GSF with one or more fellowships awarded on a competitive basis, that either singly, or in combination, are valued at $10,000 or more per year. If you meet these criteria, then you may enroll in:

• UT Select Medical administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas provides access to a broad Participating Provider Option (PPO) network of healthcare professionals.  Since GSFs are not employees and do not receive premium sharing to offset the cost of their medical insurance, however, the cost of this plan may be prohibitively expensive, when compared to the cost of Academic Blue.
• Regardless of which medical plan you enroll, or whether you enroll in one at all, you may choose to enroll in any one of the university's three dental plans administered by Delta Dental: UT Select Dental, UT Select Dental Plus, or DeltaCare USA. For more information about UT Select and DeltaCare USA dental coverage and cost, please visit our Dental - Active Employee webpage.
• In lieu of purchasing an Individual Vision Care Plan, you may choose to enroll in one of the university's vision insurance plans: Superior Vision or Superior Vision Plus. Both plans offer great benefits at an affordable price, and feature a large network of vision care providers. For additional information about Superior Vision plan coverage and cost, please visit our Vision - Active Employee webpage.

Enrollment

To enroll in the university's employee insurance plans, you must submit a Graduate Student Fellow Insurance Enrollment Request (Online) within 31 days of the start of your fellowship. When submitting your request, you will be asked to upload documentation verifying your eligibility for coverage that shows your name, the name or type of your fellowship, the annual value of your fellowship, and your fellowship's begin and end dates. Once you submit your request, it will route through the following workflow:

• Your form will be forwarded to Human Resources - Benefits.
• HR Benefits will review your request and ensure that your fellowship is eligible to participate in the employee group insurance plans.
  • If your fellowship is not eligible to participate, you will be notified via email.
• If your fellowship is eligible for coverage, then HR Benefits will validate that you have a Graduate Student Fellow (GSF) job in Workday. 
  • If you do not have a GSF job in Workday, then HR Benefits will contact your sponsoring department and ask them to create one for you.
  • You will be copied on the request to your department.
• Once your GSF job has been final approved, HR Benefits will ensure that you have completed onboarding.
  • To complete onboarding, log into Workday, click on your Inbox in the upper right hand corner, and complete any assigned tasks. For assistance with onboarding, please reach out to your sponsoring department's HR contact.
• Once you have completed onboarding, HR Benefits will add your eligibility to enroll in insurance, and you will receive an email inviting you to do so through My UT Benefits.

Changes to Employment or Family Status

Your enrollment in the university's employee insurance plans will continue for the duration of your fellowship. If there are any changes to the duration of your fellowship, you must contact the HRSC within 31 days of the date the changes were made. If your fellowship is extended, you must include proof in your message to the HRSC. If your fellowship ends early, your insurance will terminate at the end of the month in which your fellowship ends.

If you experience a qualified change of status event (marriage, birth, divorce, etc.), and you wish to make changes to your insurance, you must submit a Change of Status Request within 31 days of the event. If you fail to do so, your change of status will be denied.

Premiums & Payment

If you enroll in any of the university's employee insurance plans, the you must pay any premiums due by the first of each month. Failure to pay by the first of the month may result in cancellation of your insurance coverage. The following table explains your payment options:

Questions

For questions about graduate student fellow insurance eligibility and enrollment, please contact the Human Resource Service Center HR Portal.

For questions about graduate student fellow insurance premium payment, please contact Payroll Services payroll@austin.utexas.edu.

For questions about your specific insurance coverage, please contact the perspective Insurance Provider.