Insurance Requirements for
the 2024-2025 Academic Year
All full-time and dissertation-status students, and exchange students here for a semester or more, must carry comprehensive health insurance as a condition of student enrollment at the University of Pennsylvania. If you have your own insurance coverage, you may waive enrollment in the Penn Student Insurance Plan. Please review the information below.
Please note: the PSIP portal will open on July 1 for students enrolled in the Fall 2024 semester.
Enroll or Waive Penn Student Insurance Plan (PSIP)
About PSIP, Vision, and Dental Plan
Student Health and Counseling Forms
Access Your PSIP Insurance Card
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the University’s Insurance criteria for Academic Year 2024-2025 for students?
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Students in the Philadelphia area must have insurance that meets the following standards. If you are covered under your own health insurance or that of your parents, you may maintain your coverage if it meets the following criteria:
- Your insurance plan must be provided by a company licensed to do business in the United States, with a U.S. claims payment office and a U.S. telephone number. The company must have a process to remit payments to providers within the U.S.
- Your insurance plan must provide coverage for pre-existing conditions, or have been in effect long enough that any waiting period has passed.
- Your insurance plan must offer an annual maximum benefit of at least $2,000,000.
- Your insurance plan must provide for both in-patient and out-patient mental health care in the Philadelphia area. A policy that provides only emergency or urgent mental health care services in this area does not meet this requirement. *
- Your insurance plan must provide coverage for both in-patient and out-patient medical care in the Philadelphia area, including routine office visits, specialist office visits, diagnostic testing, imaging and physical therapy. A policy that provides only emergency or urgent medical care in this area does not meet this requirement.*
*If you are insured with an out-of-area managed care plan (i.e. HMO or similar plan), you should be aware that most managed care plans do not cover any care outside of the plan network other than urgent and emergency services. Unless your insurance carrier provides you with a rider for out-of-area coverage in the Philadelphia area, your waiver will not be approved.
- What is the Clinical Fee?
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Wellness' Student Health and Counseling division is located on campus and committed to partnering with you to treat illnesses and injuries, promote wellness, and provide you with health education and information. Access is provided through Penn's Clinical Fee. The clinical fee for academic year 2024-2025 is $358 per semester. All full-time students, including those who are enrolled in the Penn Student Insurance Plan (PSIP), will be charged the Clinical Fee.
- What do I need to know before I enroll into or waive out of the Penn Student Insurance Plan (PSIP)?
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Students must enroll into or waive out of the Penn Student Insurance Plan (PSIP) every year. If you waive out of PSIP, you will be asked to submit your health insurance for verification that it meets the University requirements.
You will need to have a PennKey and password to access the Penn Insurance Portal. The PennKey is your link to most of the electronic resources that you will need while here on campus. If you are a first year student, contact your school to find out how to obtain a PennKey (or visit the PennKey website.)
IMPORTANT: If you receive a message stating that you don’t have access to this site, this may be because we have not yet received your registration information from the University. Please try back in few days. If the problem persists longer than a week, please contact the Insurance Navigators at 215-746-WELL (9355) or email us at wel-shsinsur@pobox.upenn.edu.
If your health insurance changes at any point during the academic year, your coverage must be updated in person in the Immunization and Insurance Compliance Office. You cannot change the date of enrollment. Once you have completed your selection, you will receive a confirmation email. You can also visit the Insurance Portal again to view your selection information and the status of your waiver request.
If you are a student enrolling in the Penn Student Insurance Plan, please be aware that you will also be charged the Clinical Fee in order to access Student Health and Counseling as your primary care provider.
The Insurance Portal opens and closes at various points throughout the year:- July 1 - August 31 for Fall semester enrollees
- December 1 - January 31 for Spring semester enrollees
- April 15 - May 31 for Summer semester enrollees
- How do I enroll in or waive the Penn Student Insurance Plan (PSIP)?
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You can enroll in or waive the Penn Student Insurance Plan by clicking the links at the top of this page.
Please note: the Insurance Portal opens and closes at various points throughout the year:
- July 1 - August 31 for Fall semester enrollees
- December 1 - January 31 for Spring semester enrollees
- April 15 - May 31 for Summer semester enrollees
If you would like to waive, please obtain a copy of your plan’s benefits and review them to ensure your plan meets the necessary criteria. Please note that all waiver requests must be approved by the University. The University audits waiver requests and may contact your insurance company to verify that your plan meets the University’s insurance criteria. Alternate insurance plans found to not meet these criteria will not be approved.
It is your responsibility to inform us of any change in your insurance during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Watch this instructional video to find out how to complete your Insurance enrollment or waiver! - What are the referral requirements?
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Students covered under the Penn Student Insurance Plan should first seek medical treatment at Student Health and Counseling for each medical condition if within 25 miles of Student Health and Counseling. The Student Health and Counseling provider will refer you, if appropriate, to an outside provider in advance of your appointment. A new referral for each condition is required at the beginning of each policy year.
Any care received within 25 miles of Student Health and Counseling without a prior Student Health and Counseling referral will be payable subject to the Non-Preferred Benefit, including the $1,500 Deductible.
A referral is not required in the following circumstances:
- Treatment for an emergency medical condition
- The student is more than 25 miles away from Student Health and Counseling
- Annual eye exams, services, and supplies
- Injury to sound natural teeth or removal of impacted wisdom teeth
- Preventive or routine services
- Reproductive health and voluntary termination of pregnancy
- Inpatient and outpatient mental health and substance use services
- Pediatric care
- Students on leave of absence
- Outpatient lab services
- Care for dependents
The referral requirement does not apply to covered dependents or when Student Health and Counseling is closed. Referrals expire July 31. Please contact Student Health and Counseling for all questions about referrals.
- How do I print my PSIP insurance card?
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Those enrolled can print their insurance card by going to the Aetna Student Health website
- A Qualifying Life Event (Loss of Coverage)
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A Qualifying Life Event is an involuntary loss of health insurance coverage such as:
- Removal from parents health insurance coverage after achieving a landmark birthday
- Losing health insurance through loss of employment or divorce
- A change in private insurance from a PPO to an HMO, which is not covered in the Philadelphia area.
To request an application please email or call our Insurance Navigators:
215-746-WELL (9355)
Insurance: wel-shsinsur@pobox.upenn.edu*All applications must be received within 31 days of the Qualifying Life Event.
Tips for International Students
International Students residing in the US may be eligible for plans offered by PSI and ISO. While these plans are accepted by the University and meet the waiver requirements, they are not sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, they are merely a suggestion of international private insurance plans that will meet the requirements of the University (whichever plan you choose it must cover your stay as a Student at UPenn):
Tips for English Language Program (ELP) Students
If you receive your health insurance through the English Language Program (ELP), you will receive your card in your mail folder in the Student Center. You will also receive a second card in a few weeks that you can use to help pay for prescription medications at the pharmacy.
Registering your ELP Insurance Policy
Register your ELP insurance policy when you receive your card. This is very important because you must do this in order to use your insurance card. You can also find information on this website about what services are covered by your insurance and how to request reimbursement (the company may pay you back for some services)
Seeking care at Student Health and Counseling versus an Emergency Room
A Penn Student Health and Counseling provider is on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to aid students in deciding if and where they should go to have their medical needs addressed. If it is a true medical emergency, students should call Penn Comm at 215-573-3333 if on campus, call 9-1-1 if outside the Penn patrol zone, or head to the nearest emergency room, preferably one in the Penn Medicine network (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at 34th and Spruce, or Presbyterian at 38th and Market).
Contact the Immunization and Insurance Navigators
Insurance Navigators
Wellness at Penn
3535 Market street, Suite 60, Mezzanine
Philadelphia PA 19104
215-746-WELL (9355)
Direct: 215-746-4200
Immunization: wel-immun@pobox.upenn.edu
Insurance: wel-shsinsur@pobox.upenn.edu