Insurance for Students

Weber State University does not currently offer a student health insurance plan.

Healthcare: Insurance is not required to access services at the Ogden Clinic. With or without insurance, Ogden Clinic is usually the most cost-effective option for Weber State students. Students will not be charged a copay and insurance will not be billed for basic healthcare needs. Additional services are available at a negotiated rate or Ogden Clinic can bill your insurance on your behalf. Learn more about Ogden Clinic Services and rates.

Counseling Services: Insurance is not required or accepted at the Counseling & Psychological Services Center (CPSC). Counseling services are provided free of charge to current Weber State students through the CPSC. The CPSC can help most students with their mental health needs, but they are not a full-service mental health clinic. In some cases, students are best served through a referral to one of our community partners. 

International Student Health Insurance

 Student Options for Obtaining Health Coverage

• Remain on your parents’ insurance. The Affordable Care Act allows young adults to remain on their parent's insurance until age 26. This is true even if you no longer live at home or are no longer claimed on your parents’ taxes. It’s even true if you’re married or have children of your own! This can often be the simplest and least expensive option.

• Check with your employer. If you’re employed, you may be eligible for coverage under your employer’s plan. Some employers only offer insurance benefits to full-time employees, but some offer it to part-time employees as well. It’s worth double-checking to see if you qualify and, if so, how much your costs will be. If you are not currently covered through your employer, you will need to wait for your open enrollment period. Ask your Human Resources department when this occurs. If you’ve missed this period, you can still get coverage if you have a “qualifying event,” which typically includes:

  • Loss of other coverage

  • Marriage or divorce

  • Birth or adoption of a child

  • Other life events may count, as well, so if you’ve had other major life changes, check with your Human Resources to see if you qualify.

• See if you qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid provides health care coverage for people under a certain income level. Income limits have recently changed, so you may qualify now even if you did not in the past.

• Purchase a plan on the Healthcare Marketplace. You can purchase your own plan at healthcare.gov. As with an employer-based plan, you’ll need to wait for open enrollment, which occurs in the late fall, or have a “qualifying event.”

• Get continuing coverage through COBRA. If you’ve recently lost your employer-based coverage, you may be eligible for coverage through COBRA. This is usually the most expensive insurance option, so it pays to check your options through the Healthcare Marketplace first.

 Making Informed Choices about Health Insurance

Whether you get your health insurance from your employer or from the marketplace, you may have several plans to choose from. Before signing up for a plan, make sure it fits your needs and your budget.

Does the plan fit your budget?

Different plans may have different premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pocket expenses. Each represents a different type of expense, so it’s important to know what these terms mean.

Premium: the amount that you pay each month.

• Pro tip:
  • A lower premium may mean a higher deductible or lower coverage.

Deductible: the amount that you’ll have to pay before your insurance plan will start to pay.

• Pro tip:
  • High deductible plans usually have lower monthly premiums. This may be a good option for students with minimal healthcare needs, but a high deductible might be too expensive to manage if you need care outside of routine checkups and the occasional illness.
  • Plans usually split the cost of your care with you until you reach your full deductible. This can appear as a strange fraction. For example, a plan with 80/20 coverage means that your insurance will cover 80% of your expenses and you are responsible for 20% until your deductible is met.

Co-pay: the amount you’ll pay each time you use your insurance.

• Pro tip:
  • There may be different co-pay amounts for primary care, specialty care, urgent care, emergency care, and pharmacy benefits. Consider how the co-pay will fit into your budget - If you can’t afford the co-pay, it may discourage you from getting care when you need it.
  • Preventive care is typically covered without a copay, even if you haven’t met your deductible.
  • You will continue to pay the copay amount, even after you meet your deductible until you meet the out-of-pocket maximum.

An out-of-pocket maximum is the most you will pay for your healthcare expenses within a year.

• Pro tip:
  • This amount includes the deductible and copays but does not include the monthly premium, out-of-network care, or care that is not covered by the plan.
  • If you have children or a partner who will be covered by the plan, take a look at the “family out-of-pocket” maximum, as well.

 Does The Plan Fit Your Needs?

Cost isn’t the only thing to consider! Does the plan let you see the doctors you want? Does it pay for the care you need? Make sure before you commit!

Most plans will only pay for the care provided within their network, or the group of hospitals, clinics, and doctors that your plan prefers.

• Pro tip:
  • Less expensive plans may have a smaller network, which can be inconvenient, especially if you already have a doctor, need specialty care, or have to go out of your way to get care.
  • Care provided “out of network” is usually your responsibility to pay for, so be sure the network you choose is convenient for you.

Different plans offer different levels of coverage or the amount they’ll pay for a type of care.

• Pro tip:
  • Less expensive plans may offer less coverage, especially for specialists and mental or behavioral health care.
  • If your insurance doesn’t cover a particular service (or won’t cover enough to make it affordable), you may be discouraged from getting care if and when you need it.

This is especially true for mental health coverage.

• Pro tip:
  • The Affordable Care Act requires most plans, including those sold on the Marketplace, to provide coverage for mental health and substance use disorder services. While it’s safe to assume that most plans provide some level of coverage, they may have an inconvenient network, require a high co-pay, or have a high deductible.