Eligibility to Waive

(If you are a PhD student with funding which includes SHP, this does not apply to you. Please see PhD Student Waiver Eligibility below)

Domestic students, including students at the Ithaca campus, AgriTech, and Cornell Tech, are eligible to waive SHP coverage if they have coverage which meets university requirements. Please see “how to waive” for more information. Waivers must be approved each semester.

Special Notes:

• Early start students (Programs beginning in May or June) are automatically enrolled in SHP at the beginning of their program and are eligible to waive.  Waivers must be approved by July 31st to apply to the May and/or June coverage. See the rates and dates page for special deadlines for these students.
• All students enrolled in degree-seeking programs will be automatically enrolled in SHP whether or not they are taking a full course load and are eligible to waive.
• Domestic students in the School of Continuing Education will be automatically enrolled in SHP if they meet the 12-credit requirement for fall or spring term or the 6-credit requirement for summer and are eligible to waive.
• Students electing to enroll in summer courses following academic enrollment in the immediate preceding spring term are not automatically enrolled in SHP because they already have active waivers on file or existing SHP enrollment.

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, in addition to meeting university requirements of coverage, to qualify for a waiver or termination of coverage, such plans must:

• Include out-of-network coverage,
• Not limit coverage to specific counties in New York or other states,
• Provide coverage for repatriation of remains.

Generally, PhD students are automatically enrolled in SHP and not eligible to waive. Most PhD students receive funding to cover the cost of SHP enrollment as part of their overall compensation. 

If your program does not provide funding for SHP and you have existing coverage that meets the University's requirements, and you wish to waive SHP, please contact studentbenefits@cornell.edu and include documentation from your department that you are not funded no later than July 31st of the upcoming academic year.

In Absentia students must either enroll in SHP or demonstrate proof of coverage which meets university requirements. Without an approved waiver, In Absentia students will be enrolled in SHP. Please note, some students may be enrolled in SHP due to the requirements of your program, funding status, or international status. Please email studentbenefits@cornell.edu if you require assistance processing your waiver application while In Absentia.

• While students In Absentia are still required to maintain coverage provided by a US-based plan, this plan does not need to provide coverage on campus as long as it meets the requirements of coverage where the student is located.
• International students (i.e.: students from outside the United States) who are also studying outside the United States are automatically enrolled in SHP and generally not eligible to waive. Exceptions may be granted for students who are studying in their home country and have existing coverage there—please contact studentbenefits@cornell.edu and include documentation from your department that you are not funded and studying in your home country as early as possible.
• The deadline to waive with other coverage while In Absentia is the same as with any other student and when you return to campus, you must either enroll in SHP or waive with coverage that provides adequate access to care at Ithaca or NYC Tech, whichever is applicable.
• Domestic students with In Absentia status are subject to the same requirements as other study abroad students as described in the section below.

Students in executive MBA and MPA program 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 (i.e.: students from the United States) who are studying abroad are automatically enrolled in SHP, which provides excellent international coverage, or they may choose to waive if they have health insurance which meets Cornell’s requirements.
• International students (i.e.: students from outside the United States) who are also studying outside the United States are automatically enrolled in SHP and generally not eligible to waive. Exceptions may be granted for students who are studying in their home country and have existing coverage there—please contact studentbenefits@cornell.edu for more information.