Many Meredith students have health insurance, but for those who do not, an injury or illness could be costly and possibly affect a student’s ability to remain in school and progress toward a degree. Meredith feels that all students benefit from having health insurance to help offset costs of an unexpected illness or accident. Conversely, students without health insurance do not have access to needed specialty care or hospitalization and may attempt to continue their academic pursuits but fail to reach their full potential because of their untreated illness.

Eligible students required to have health insurance are

• All full-time undergraduate students
• licensure-only students
• pre-health students
• international students
• students studying in a Meredith study abroad program (ex: Sansepolcro)
• dietetic interns
• I-O Psych students

The BCBSNC annual coverage is effective from August 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025. The cost is $339/month. The payments are split between fall and spring/summer.

• Fall 2023: $1,695.00 (5 months, August 2024 to December 2024)
• Spring/Summer 2025: $2,373.00 (7 months, January 2025 to July 2025)
  
  

Review the current plan with BCBS NC.

Students who have health insurance coverage must waive out every year while enrolled at Meredith College.

Eligible students with an existing health insurance policy should complete the on-line waiver. The portal will open for students starting in early July with new incoming students being able to access the portal early during their on-campus StartStrong day. The portal will close for ALL students on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 5:00pm EDT for the Fall 2022 semester and Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 5:00pm EDT for Spring/Summer 2023. No changes can be made after the portal closes. If the student does not complete the waiver and have it approved then the health insurance charge will remain on the account and the student will be enrolled in Meredith sponsored BCBS plan.

It is important that you complete this waiver EVERY YEAR while at Meredith. Students who do not complete this waiver will be charged for the student health insurance on their Meredith student account. The health insurance charge will remain on the account and cannot be removed via waiver after the deadline.

All eligible students WITHOUT an existing health insurance policy

• may elect the plan Meredith offers and opt to enroll OR
• may choose to purchase an acceptable insurance plan* of their choice and complete the waiver on-line.
• Students who do not complete an on-line waiver by that semester’s deadline will not be able to remove the student health insurance charge and will be enrolled into the Meredith sponsored BCBS plan. After the portal deadline, all student health insurance charges will remain on student accounts and cannot be removed.
• For Fall, we encourage students to enroll in July to allow time for your insurance cards to be printed and mailed by August 1st.

Yes. You can purchase health insurance from an outside agency, however, the health insurance plan you purchase must be an acceptable insurance plan.

An acceptable insurance plan is one that

• is active for the entire academic year
• provides comprehensive medical coverage including mental health
• provides comparable coverage to the Meredith sponsored BCBS plan
• is compliant with the Affordable Care Act
• has providers that accept the coverage in the Raleigh area

Note: Limited liability, short-term, month-to-month, indemnity, out-of-state Medicaid, hospital-based charity coverage, Kaiser, and similar limited scope plans will not be accepted.

Yes. All eligible students need to complete the on-line waiver to verify their insurance information annually.

If you are enrolled as a resident student living in a residence hall, the student health fee is included with room and board charges. The student health fee is not health insurance. This fee covers the basic care offered at the campus health center in the Student Health and Wellness Center. Some laboratory procedures and special services require additional fees.

Health insurance gives students access to services and specialists not available at the health center in the Student Health and Wellness Center. Health insurance also may cover a portion of the cost for services not provided at Student Health Services, such as hospitalization, required surgery, or specialty services for illnesses or injuries.

We understand that concern. This is why BCBS NC helps coordinate the student health insurance waiver plan. BCBS NC will not sell our students’ information to anyone, including direct mail marketing vendors. They also use the most stringent, HIPAA-compliant web security currently available. Great care is taken to minimize the potential for security breaches that might lead to fraud or other malicious use of personal information. Meredith also takes steps to protect student information.

As of Fall 2016, insurance is billed by semester (fall and spring/summer). If you no longer meet the requirements for requiring insurance (such as graduating, transferring, etc), you will not be eligible for coverage in spring and your coverage will end December 31st.

Yes.  For those who qualify, student and parent loans are available.  Students should first apply for financial assistance by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at  http://www.studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa. After completing the FAFSA, students may contact the Office of Financial Assistance at (919) 760-8565 or by email finaid@meredith.edu.

Only graduate students in the following programs are required to show proof of health insurance: pre-health, dietetic interns, I-O Psych, international students, licensure-only, and students who are studying abroad. Only graduate students in those programs are eligible to enroll in the Meredith sponsored BCBS policy. If you have questions, please contact your department head.

Since medical expenses in the U.S. can be extremely high, health insurance is designed to protect you from incurring unmanageable expenses in the case of medical emergencies. For this reason, Meredith College requires that all students have a health insurance policy to cover them throughout their studies.

There are two options you can consider for meeting your health insurance requirement:

1. Enroll in Meredith’s policy with Student Blue or
2. Waive the Meredith health insurance with an alternative health insurance policy. International Student Insurance’s (ISI) Defender plan is Meredith’s vetted alternative to Student Blue for international students, unless you have a different policy through a spouse or employer in the U.S.
   
   

**IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING THE INSURANCE WAIVER: In order for your waiver to be approved, your alternative health insurance policy must provide coverage for the full year, though payment can happen by semester. For the 2024-25 academic year, the Fall semester’s policy must begin by August 1, 2024 and continue through at least December 31, 2024; spring semester’s insurance must begin by January 1, 2025, and run through July 31, 2025.

Keep in mind that with health insurance policies in the U.S., you generally get what you pay for, meaning that the cheaper the policy you buy, the less coverage it may provide, and vice versa.  You will want to take your own medical history and needs into account as you make a decision about what health insurance policy is best for you. It is important to understand both the upfront monthly costs as well as how much you pay out of pocket towards deductibles and copays, in addition to the difference between ‘in-network’ and ‘out-of-network’ services.

Next steps for meeting your health insurance requirement include:

• Review Meredith’s Student Blue health insurance policy and compare it to ISI’s Defender policies (both the $200 deductible and $500 deductible plans will meet the waiver requirements).
• Once you have decided on your insurance policy, enroll in or waive out of Student Blue.
  • If waiving (meaning you are purchasing ISI instead), a waiver form is required, along with documentation of your ISI health insurance policy. Complete your waiver in the Student Blue Portal.
  • If you are choosing Meredith’s policy, enroll in the plan (and get access to your health insurance card) in the Student Blue Portal.

• Check your Meredith Student Account to see the insurance charge applied (or dropped if you have successfully waived with your ISI insurance policy). Action must be taken to either enroll or waive prior to the start of classes.
  
  

More details about preparing for Meredith are available on our Student Guidebook.

Please visit http://studentbluenc.com/#/meredith/benefits for more information.

Yes. Eligible students may choose to start coverage in the spring by notifying Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina at (800) 579-8022 or by visiting the BCBS website. The waiver period for the spring semester opens over Thanksgiving break and is open through January 15, 2025. 

To discontinue spring/summer coverage students must complete Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBS NC) waiver and have it approved by 5:00pm, January 15, 2025.

Students who fail to notify BCBS NC to opt out of the spring/summer coverage by 5:00pm, January 15, 2025 will remain on the policy through July 31, 2025 and will be charged $2,373.00.

It may be possible to join the plan within a 30-day period following a life-qualifying event. Examples of qualifying events include loss of coverage due to age, divorce/marriage, and termination of employment. If you have a question about joining the plan outside of the open enrollment period due to a qualifying event, please contact Student Blue at (800) 579-8022.

Contact BCBS NC at

Student Blue
PO Box 2073
Durham, NC 27702

(800) 579-8022
email@studentbluenc.com

Deductible
A deductible is the amount of out-of-pocket expenses the insured person (you) must pay for health services before benefits become payable by the insurance carrier.

Co-Payments
Co-payments are payments made by the insured person (you) toward the cost of a particular benefit. For example, an insurance plan might require a $20 co-pay for each 31 day supply of a prescription medication. An emergency room visit might have a $50 copay per visit plus 80% of preferred and allowable expenses.

Coinsurance
Coinsurance means the insured person (you) and the insurance carrier share costs according to a specified ratio (e.g. 80%: 20%) of the hospital or medical expenses resulting from a sickness or injury.

Covered Illness/Sickness
A covered illness/sickness is any disease, infection, or condition other than injury that is first treated or diagnosed by a doctor on or after the effective date of coverage under the insurance plan, unless pre-existing condition waivers apply.

Covered Injury
A covered injury is an accidental body injury that causes loss – directly and independently of all other causes – and is sustained on or after the effective date of coverage under the plan, unless pre-existing condition waivers apply.

PPO
PPO stands for Preferred Provider Organization. These are networks formed from different health care providers and facilities who agree to accept a discounted payment level for charges incurred by patients insured under a plan with that specific PPO. The campus-endorsed plan uses Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina as their PPO because it has the highest number of providers and facilities in their network

Pre-Existing Condition
A pre-existing condition is an injury, illness, or pregnancy for which medical care or treatment or diagnosis or medical advice was received or recommended or medication was prescribed prior to the effective date of the insured person’s coverage under the insurance plan. United Healthcare’s pre-existing condition reads: Except for individuals who have been continuously insured under the school’s student insurance policy for at least 12 consecutive months; The pre-existing condition exclusionary period will be reduced by the total number of months that the insured provides documentation of continuous coverage under a prior health insurance policy which provided benefits similar to this policy.

Referral
A referral happens when students require services that cannot be provided in the Meredith College Student Health and Wellness Center. The Student Health and Wellness Center staff arranges the referral with service providers in the student insurance’s PPO network, if possible.