Insurance Plans

Insurance

Health insurance is crucial for college students for several reasons. First, it provides financial protection against unexpected medical expenses. Whether it’s a routine checkup or an emergency, having insurance ensures that students won’t face exorbitant bills. Second, insurance facilitates access to healthcare services, including preventive screenings, vaccinations, and mental health support.

 

Affordable Care Act
Common health care terms
Domestic student insurance plan
International student insurance plan
Postdoctoral fellow insurance plan
Students with private insurance

We recommend adequate health insurance coverage.

All Oregon State students are strongly encouraged to have some form of health insurance. 

SHS offers student health insurance for students that may not have had access previously.

At this time, international students are mandated to have health insurance coverage and are automatically enrolled in the mandatory OSU Student Health Insurance Plan. OSU requires that all non-resident international students and their dependents (living in the United States) be covered by health insurance.

The health insurance must meet federal, state and OSU requirements (OAR 576-025-0020). For more information on adding a dependent to your OSU health insurance, contact the Student Health Insurance office at 541-737-7600.

 

What is health insurance?

Health insurance pays part of the cost of health care for you and your family if you are injured or get sick. It can be used at OSU Student Health Services, doctors’ offices, and hospitals. 

OSU’s health insurance requires that you use either Student Health Services or a doctor that is part of the plan (doctors who have signed up with that insurance company).

I have dependents on my plan; How do they use my insurance?

Each family member on your plan has a $500 deductible. This is the amount that you must pay each year before benefits will be paid by the insurance company. The deductible is waived for students seen at Student Health Services, but does apply for dependents and students when seen outside Student Health. 

For more information

Contact the Student Health Insurance Plan office via email or 541-737-6748.

Where is the best place to use my OSU health insurance?

#1: Student Health Services

In most situations, the first place to go is Student Health Services. This will be the cheapest place to get health care.

To make an appointment, call 541-737-9355. If you need to see a doctor immediately, some same-day appointments are available. 

If you have a problem when Student Health is not open, call 541-737-9355.

#2: Off-campus urgent care

If Student Health is closed, you can go to Corvallis Clinic Immediate Care or Samaritan Urgent Care. 

Corvallis Clinic Immediate Care Center
Asbury Building
3680 NW Samaritan Drive
Corvallis, OR 97330
Phone: 541-754-1282
 

Samaritan Urgent Care Center
5234 SW Philomath Blvd. (in Sunset Plaza near Safeway)
Corvallis, OR 97333
Phone: 541-768-4970

#3: Off-campus doctor or specialist

If you are looking for a special type of doctor off campus that is part of your insurance plan, go to the PacificSource website.

Note: Call 9-1-1 in an emergency

They can send an ambulance to help you. You can also go to the emergency room at the hospital. Emergency room visits are much more expensive than visiting a doctor who is covered by your insurance. If you go to the emergency room when you don’t have an emergency, your insurance might refuse to pay all or part of your charges. You would need to pay those charges. This can cost you a lot of money.

Student Health Services is not an "emergency facility." Good reasons to go to the emergency room:

  • Losing consciousness
  • Severe pain
  • Severe trouble breathing
  • Chest pain
  • Bleeding that doesn’t stop
  • Poisoning (contact the Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222 for immediate advice)
  • A major injury, such as a head injury
  • Severe or worsening reaction to an insect bite or a medication, especially if breathing is difficult
  • Stupor, drowsiness or disorientation that cannot be explained

Domestic Student Insurance Plan

 

Comprehensive student health insurance.

We are thrilled to offer domestic students, Ecampus students and PharmD students the option to enroll in the Oregon State University Health Insurance Plan from PacificSource.

Enrollment is easy, and the plan provides access to a wide network of local and nationwide care providers.

Open enrollment for the PacificSource student health insurance plan takes place during the following dates:

  • Fall Term: 9/08/24 – 10/18/24
  • Winter Term: 12/20/24 – 1/27/25
  • Spring Term:  3/19/25 – 4/11/25
  • Summer Term:  6/11/25 – 7/02/25

 

Domestic and PharmD student eligibility

All domestic and PharmD students are eligible for the Oregon State University Health Insurance Plan on a voluntary basis if they are:

  • An undergraduate student enrolled at Oregon State for six (6) credit hours.
  • A graduate student enrolled at Oregon State for three (3) credit hours.

Ecampus student eligibility

All Ecampus students are eligible to enroll if they meet the following criteria:

  • Student must live within the state of Oregon.
  • Student is degree-seeking.
  • Undergraduate students must be taking a minimum of six (6) credits.
  • Graduate students must be taking a minimum of three (3) credits.

Download the full highlight sheet (PDF)

Cost of Coverage

This information pertains to domestic, Ecampus, pharmD students and their dependents.

Cost Per Person: 

  • Fall (9/11/24 - 12/20/24) - $1174
  • Winter (12/21/24 - 3/19/25) - $1174
  • Spring (3/20/25 - 9/10/25) - $1174
  • Summer (6/12/25 - 9/10/25) - $896

Please note: The amount stated in the PacificSource materials does not include the student insurance administrative fee, which will be charged directly to your student account. This fee is $70.00 per term for students only. The prices above DO include the $70.00 fee.

 

Additional links

Download the free PacificSource "InTouch" app to manage your coverage.

Visit PacificSource.com/OSU for more information.

International Student Insurance Plan

Why do I need health insurance as an international student?

Healthcare in America can be expensive, so it is important to have health insurance. 

All non-resident international students and their dependents (living in the United States) must be covered by health insurance that meets national, state and OSU requirements (OAR 576-025-0020). All international students are automatically charged for OSU International Health Insurance.

Students who have other insurance can submit a waiver request with a summary of their insurance coverage. If approved, the charge will be removed. For more information on adding a dependent to your OSU health insurance, contact the Student Health Insurance office 541-737-7600.

Mandatory insurance for international and INTO OSU students.

The OSU Student Health Insurance Plan ensures that you receive affordable coverage and access to a wide network of healthcare providers across the nation.

This plan is provided by PacificSource and comes with a variety of online tools to manage your coverage easily.

For your convenience, we provide the option to waive coverage if you have comparable coverage through a different company.

Eligibility

All international and INTO OSU students who are registered for a minimum of one (1) on-campus credit are required to enroll in the OSU Student Health Insurance plan.

If you are an eligible international or INTO OSU student, you will be automatically enrolled and charged for this plan.

Dependents

If you have any dependents in your household who are eligible for coverage under the plan, they have the option to enroll.  To add a dependent, they must fill out an enrollment form and submit it to the Student Health Insurance Plan office by email. The enrollment form can be found here.

 

Health Insurance Gap Coverage

If you are an international student moving from the Student Health Insurance Plan to the Graduate Plan or an international student moving from the Graduate Plan to the Student Health Insurance Plan you may experience a gap in health insurance coverage. For information about purchasing health insurance to cover this gap, please contact the Student Health Insurance Plan Office. Please note that eligibility requirements must be met.

Waivers

You may waive the requirement to be covered under the OSU Student Insurance Plan if you have comparable insurance under a different company.

In order to waive the requirement, you must complete the waiver process established by the school. 

If you do not complete the waiver process, or your insurance does not meet the waiver requirements, you will be automatically enrolled into the OSU Student Insurance Plan and a premium will be charged to your student account.

Refer to the dates below to ensure you complete the waiver process in time.

Waiver dates:

  • Fall Term: 9/08/24 (open) - 10/18/24 (close)
  • Winter Term: 12/20/24 (open) - 1/27/25 (close)
  • Spring: 3/192/25 (open) - 4/11/25 (close)
  • Summer Term: 6/11/25 (open) - 7/02/25 (close)

Leave of Absence Coverage

Students with College/University approved Medical Leave of Absence can have one term extension of benefits per academic year. All applicable enrollment deadline dates apply.

REQUIREMENTS FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE COVERAGE
  • To qualify for the Leave of Absence coverage you must be mandated to have health insurance per OSU and federal visa requirements.  
  • Have an approved Medical Leave of Absence with Oregon State University.
  • You must have been enrolled in the health insurance at least one term prior to your approved Leave of Absence. 
  • Deadlines to apply for Leave of Absence coverage for the 2024-25 academic year
    • Fall - 10/18/24
    • Winter - 1/27/25
    • Spring - 4/11/25
    • Summer - 7/02/25

Non-Degree Seeking International Exchange Student Health Insurance

International students from exchange programs can download the following insurance information from GeoBlue:

Postdoctoral Fellow Insurance Plan

Voluntary, affordable coverage.

Postdoctoral Fellows and Visiting Scholars are eligible for the OSU Student Health Insurance Plan on a voluntary basis.

Eligible dependents of those enrolled in the plan can also participate on a voluntary basis.

Eligibility, cost and enrollment

Eligible parties: Postdoctoral Fellow, Visiting Scholar Student/Dependent

Coverage period: 9/11/24 - 9/10/25

Cost (per person): $276.00/month

  • Please note: The amount stated above includes a $17.50 per month admin fee. This fee is charged separately to the individuals Banner account. Dependents added to the plan are not charged for the admin fee.

Click here to enroll

*Link goes to PacificSource website

Additional links

Download the free PacificSource "InTouch" app to manage your coverage.

Visit PacificSource.com/OSU for more information, including a complete student guide.

Students with Private Insurance

 In-Network Students

Out-Of-Network Students

  • If you are a student who has any other health insurance NOT purchased through Oregon State University, you are NOT considered in-network with Student Health Services.
    • This means that your health insurance may not cover your labs, office procedures, immunizations, physicals requiring paperwork, etc.
    • You will need to contact your health insurance company prior to coming to Student Health Services to see how your out-of-network benefits will work in our clinic.
    • There is a phone number for member services usually on the back of your health insurance card. The health insurance company can look us up by our NPI # 1316048531 or tax ID #61-1730890.

Insurance Billing

  • We courtesy bill ALL health insurances, other than out of state Medicaid which we are unable to accept.
  • If you have questions about enrolling in Oregon Medicaid please contact the Benton County Health Department. The Oregon Health Plans, especially OHP IHN,  may cover Medicaid qualified charges here at Student Health Services.
  • Kaiser Plans (OR/WA) may cover charges at Student Health Services if the patient calls their Kaiser Insurance prior to coming in to SHS. 
  • Tricare is also accepted here and depending on the plan, may cover services here.

Before your First Appointment

  • Prior to your first appointment, please visit the patient portal. Under “insurance card” scan in the front and back of your insurance card.  Please bring the following information with you:  Subscriber name, subscriber address, and subscriber date of birth (subscriber could be a parent, spouse, domestic partner, or guardian).
  • If you prefer to not give us your health insurance information, do not have health insurance (OSU domestic students are not required to have health insurance), or if the insurance does not cover all of your charges, those charges will be sent over to the student account after the insurance responds – this can take up to several months.  We do not collect any payments at the time of your visit.
  • If you have a high deductible insurance plan that includes a Health Savings Card (HSA) that you would like to use for payment, please call 541-737-4184 for an appointment to collect the card information payment over the phone, only VISA and MasterCard are accepted. 
  • The Insurance Billing staff work remotely and would be happy to answer any of your insurance-related questions.  Please call 541-737-2068, or 541-737-8370.  You can also send messages to the billing department through the SHS Patient Portal, login and then go to messages > new message > send a message to the billing dept.

Affordable Care Act

More than 19 million young adults across the United States lack basic health insurance coverage.

Although often healthy, young people do need medical care for preventive treatment, regular check-ups, and occasional health problems. Many of them also have costly chronic conditions. Yet rising health insurance premiums price millions of young adults out of the market.

The Affordable Care Act aims to provide affordable coverage to millions of uninsured and underinsured young adults.

SOURCE: Young Invincibles website

Highlights of the Affordable Care Act

  • The law gives states the option of expanding Medicaid, a very low-cost government insurance program, to cover individuals making less than about $15,300 a year. About 8 million uninsured young adults age 18 to 34 could benefit from this affordable insurance option.
  • The law creates tax credits for those purchasing insurance who earn under about $46,000 a year. Roughly 9 million uninsured young people ages 18 to 34 fall in this category and could receive tax credits. The tax credits will limit the amount an individual pays in insurance premiums for a plan purchased on the new health insurance marketplaces. 

    For example, a young person who wants to buy a plan on the individual market (i.e. not through an employer) and is making $22,000 will have to pay no more than 5.9 percent of his or her income (or $1,300 yearly in premiums). The tax credits will cover any premium costs beyond that. These benefits start in 2014 and will also assist those currently insured by making coverage more affordable.

  • The law allows adult children to stay on their parent’s health plan to age 26. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 3.1 million previously uninsured young people have already gained coverage, thanks to this provision.

How to find and buy insurance

The Affordable Care Act seeks to make insurance easier to compare and buy, by creating online marketplaces in each state.

Individuals can compare plans and purchase the package that works best for them.

For more information