Health Insurance and Claims
The University requires that all currently enrolled students, undergraduates as well as graduates, be covered by a licensed health-care insurance provider. Students can verify coverage on their Pre-Entrance Health Record. Students who do not have health insurance must obtain it from a provider of their choice or from the provider currently endorsed by the University. That provider is Aetna Student Health, formerly known as the Chickering Group.
Students should bring a copy of their insurance card when they come to the University in the fall. Most companies list a toll-free number for help with questions about benefits or claim procedures.
Some services at Student Health carry an additional fee. They include medications, lab tests, supplies for certain treatments, immunizations and allergy injections, and copies of a student’s medical record. All billing is sent
directly to the student’s local address unless he or she is a minor. In addition, all hospital care, specialty
referrals, diagnostic X-rays and imaging studies, and Emergency Room care are the financial responsibility of the student.
Lab and Pharmacy at Student Health
The University Hospital runs the Student
Health clinical laboratory and pharmacy. The pharmacy honors most insurance cards and students are required to pay only the applicable co-payment for prescriptions.
• Any laboratory studies (particularly the most expensive tests) that are sent to
the hospital and processed off site can be filed for insurance by the University Hospital.
• Tests run “on site” at Student Health (common and relatively less expensive tests) are charged directly to the student. Receipts are provided so the
student can file an insurance claim.
In-Network Provider vs. Out-of-Network Provider
A frequent insurance question is
whether Student Health and the University Hospital are participating in a particular insurance network. The University’s
Medical Center is a totally separate entity from Student Health. It participates in most major insurance networks located in the mid-Atlantic area and in a number of major national networks as well.
Student Health is a relatively small
operation, but its scope is large, caring for students from 50 states and 75 countries representing more than 900 different insurance plans. In addition, every year typically sees a 25 percent turnover in plans. Given these factors, it is logistically
and financially impossible for Student Health to be a network provider for all these plans.
As such, Student Health currently participates as providers in two insurance networks. The first is the Aetna Insurance Network, which underwrites
the Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan. The second is the Southern Health Insurance Network, which underwrites insurance for University of Virginia employees. That means Student Health will file insurance claims only on behalf of students who are insured by Aetna Student Health or by Southern Health.
Students with other insurance plans who incur fees from Student Health must pay these fees at the time of service.
An
appropriate receipt is provided, which permits students or parents to file an insurance claim themselves. Students’ options for payment at the
time of service include cash, check, credit card, or charge to their student account
at the University. As a general rule, most students who incur charges from Student
Health are able to be reimbursed for a substantial proportion of the applicable fee
by their insurance plans.
Questions about insurance filing and claims can be directed
to Student Health by calling 434.243.2794.
Maintained
by: studenthealth@virginia.edu
Last Modified:
Tuesday, 09-Jun-2009 10:24:24 EDT
© 2002 by the Rector
and Visitors of the University of Virginia
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