Eligibility to Waive

Domestic students at the Ithaca campus, AgriTech, and Cornell Tech, are eligible to opt-out of SHP coverage if they have coverage which meets university requirements for an insurance waiver. Please see “how to waive” for more information. 

Special Notes:

• Early start students (programs beginning in May or June) are automatically enrolled in SHP but may opt-out. Check the rates and dates page for specific deadlines.
• All degree-seeking students are automatically enrolled in SHP, even if they are not taking a full course load and are eligible to waive.
• Domestic students in the School of Continuing Education are automatically enrolled in SHP if they take at least 12 credits in the fall or spring, or 6 credits in summer, and are eligible to waive.

If you are a graduate student worker with funding from an academic department which includes SHP, this does not apply to you. Please see the Graduate Student Workers section below.

International students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional) are automatically enrolled in SHP and are generally not eligible to waive this coverage.

Cornell’s Student Health Benefits Advisory Committee established this requirement to:

• Ensure that international students have access to affordable health care anywhere in the United States.
• Mitigate the effect of aggressive marketing from providers of inadequate insurance plans as well as the complexities and expense of health care in the US.

Exceptions may be granted to international students who are covered by a US-based employer or embassy health insurance plan. Please contact studentbenefits@cornell.edu for details no later than July 31st for the upcoming academic year. For international students to qualify for a waiver or termination of coverage, you must carry coverage which,

• Meets all university requirements for an insurance waiver, and
• Does not limit coverage to specific counties in New York or other states, and
• Provides out-of-network coverage, and
• Is not be a reimbursable health plan, and
• Provides coverage for repatriation of remains.

All waivers are subject to review and may be denied or revoked if coverage is determined to be inadequate.

Generally, if you are enrolled in a non-degree program, your eligibility to waive will depend on:

• Your status as a domestic or international student, as detailed above, and/or:
• If you are being provided funding by your academic department to cover the cost of SHP. Students who are provided such funding are not permitted to waive enrollment in SHP.

If you have questions, please contact your academic department or email us at studentsbenefits.cornell.edu. 

PhD students are automatically enrolled in SHP and generally may not waive enrollment in the plan. If your program doesn’t cover SHP and you have other qualifying insurance, you can request a waiver. Contact studentbenefits@cornell.edu with proof from your department that you’re not funded by July 31st.

Non-PhD members of the collective bargaining unit who are provided funding to cover the cost of SHP are also not allowed to waive SHP. If you have previously waived SHP and our office is informed you have such funding, your waiver will be rescinded and you will be re-enrolled in the plan.

In Absentia students will be enrolled in SHP unless they opt-out/waive coverage. Please email studentbenefits@cornell.edu if you require assistance processing your waiver application while In Absentia.

• Students studying away from campus, In Absentia, still need to have a U.S.-based health insurance plan, but the plan doesn’t have to cover then on campus- as long as it meets the coverage requirements where they are studying.
• If you are an international student studying outside the U.S., you’ll automatically be enrolled in SHP and cannot waive. However, if you will be studying in your home country and have health insurance there, you may be able to get an exception. For this to happen you must first contact studentbenefits@cornell.edu and include a letter from your department saying you’re not funded and will be studying in your home country.
• If you are studying away from campus, the deadline to waive SHP with private qualifying insurance is the same for all students, July 31st. When you come back to campus, you must either enroll in SHP or have private qualifying  insurance that works in Ithaca or NYC Tech, depending on where you will be.

Students in executive programs (including but not limited to certain MBA and MPA programs) designed for people who are concurrently employed are not automatically enrolled in SHP and therefore not required to waive coverage. If you are enrolled in an executive academic program and would like to elect SHP coverage, log in to Gallagher Student Health during the open-enrollment period.

• Domestic students (from the U.S.) studying abroad are automatically enrolled in SHP, which has great international coverage. Students can also choose to waive SHP if they have insurance that meets Cornell’s requirements.
• International students (students from outside the U.S.) studying outside the U.S. are automatically enrolled in SHP and cannot waive. However, if you will be studying in your home country and already have health insurance there, you may be able to get an exception. Please contact studentbenefits@cornell.edu to learn more.
• If you are planning to spend a semester abroad during the coming academic year, it is your responsibility to verify that your coverage will meet your needs at your destination before you waive. For example, if you are planning to study abroad in the spring, you should consider your plans before you waive in the fall, as study abroad is not considered a qualifying life event because the move to your destination is of limited duration.