Student Health Insurance

The purpose of the health Insurance requirement is to ensure students have quality heath insurance coverage, which includes emergency care, specialty care, and pharmacy services. Students should note many of the facilities where students receive clinical training require each student to be covered by health insurance. Hospital or clinic personnel may ask for proof of coverage at any time. Students may be denied access to clinical experience, at the discretion of the facility, if not covered by health insurance. Student Health Insurance Plans provide value for students due to robust and broad coverage, often at half the cost of comparable employee plans.

Students will automatically be enrolled in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) unless the student submits a request for a waiver and it is approved. Please remember this process takes place every fall and spring. Students starting their program in the summer will also need to follow this process their first summer only. All communication about the insurance requirement and the Student Health Insurance Plan is sent directly to the student's campus email. 

You will have access to your insurance benefits and digital card by going to the AHP website. Here are the insurance coverage schedules:

• Fall - August 1 - December 31 - New Students except Nursing
• Fall - September 1 - December 31 - All Returning Students, Nursing, & Public Health
• Spring - January 1 - August 31 - All Students
• Summer - May 1 - August 31 - Only New Students

To enroll a spouse or dependent in the Student Health Insurance Plan:

1. Make sure you have paid the SHIP fee on your tuition and fee account.
2. Go to https://ttuhsc.myahpcare.com/enrollment.
3. Select your school and then click on the “Click Here to Enroll” button.
4. If you have not created an account, click Register to establish a username and password.  Otherwise, sign in with your existing username and password.
5. Continue to fill out the form until complete. 

 

Spring 2025 Spouse/Dependent Enrollment Deadline – January 31, 2025
Please know that the insurance coverage is from January 1 - August 31, 2025 for students and their spouse/dependent enrolled.

Once you have paid your fee you should be able to enroll your spouse or dependent.

If you have a qualifying life event during one of the times above you can enroll in the insurance within 30 days of that event. Example: turn 26, new spouse or baby. Make sure to notify Student Life before requesting insurance from AHP.

The Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) will be billed to the student's tuition and fee account in the fall and spring. Students that start their program in the summer will be billed for summer, fall, and spring with only being billed the first summer.  Students that do not have alternate health coverage that meets the ACA requirements will need to pay the SHIP fee following the institutional set payment deadlines to avoid fines or penalties.

Students can now authorize TTUHSC to use their Federal Financial Aid awards (e.g., grants and loans) to pay for non-institutional charges such as the student health insurance by signing a Title IV Authorization.

Students that do not pay the fee by the institutional deadline and do not have an approved waiver through AHP, will have a hold placed on their account and will not be able to register for the next semester or receive their diploma if graduating. The account balance has to be paid to remove the hold.

Students who do not wish to have the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) must file an online request for a waiver with AHP in the fall or spring semester depending on when they start. If a student's waiver is approved in the fall semester the waiver will cover them for the rest of the academic year unless the insurance is no longer active. It is the student's responsibility to work with the Office of Student Life if their insurance changes any time during the year. The request to be waived must be submitted online through the AHP website by the designated deadline.  Providing insurance information at the University Health Center does not substitute for the waiver requirement.  If no request to waive is received and approved then the student will be required to pay the student health insurance fee billed to their tuition and fee account. 

For a waiver to be approved, the level of benefits provided to the student through a health insurance plan must be Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliant. Cost sharing, short term, and travel plans do not meet the health insurance coverage requirement. Essential Health Benefits ensure students have access to local providers and a range of services in the state of Texas. Services must include, but are not limited to, hospitalization, ambulatory services, emergency services, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, prescription drugs, lab tests, preventative services, pediatric services, and rehabilitative and "habilitative" services. Also, alternative health insurance must be active for the duration of the coverage period.
Summer: May 1 - August 31 (Only if starting during the summer)
Fall: August 1 - December 31 or September 1 - December 31 (Returning students, SON & SPPH)
Spring: January 1 - August 31

NOTE: The Office of Student Life does not evaluate students' private insurance, Academic Health Plans (AHP) does. Please do not submit your insurance information to the Office of Student Life. Students must submit their private insurance information online through the AHP waiver system.

To submit a waiver request:

1. Go to ttuhsc.myahpcare.com/waiver.
2. Review the waiver criteria.
3. Click on the blue button at the bottom of the page that says ‘Click Here to Waive the Student Health Insurance Plan’.
4. On the login page, students will enter their TTUHSC student ID in R1234567 format as their username and their date of birth in MMDDYYYY format as the initial password unless previously changed. Students are then taken to the student dashboard screen.
5. Fill out alternative health insurance information and submit. It can take 5-7 days for the waiver to be processed.  

F-1 Non-immigrant students: When submitting a waiver request, students might be required to pay an extra fee to enroll in a supplemental coverage for evacuation and repatriation if their insurance does not cover these items.

Spring 2025 Waiver Submission Deadline – January 31, 2025
Please know that even though the deadline to submit a waiver is January 31, you have been charged the fee for the student health insurance plan and will be expected to pay the fee by the Institutional set payment deadlines to avoid fines and penalties if you do not have an approved waiver for the spring semester. A waiver submitted late does not mean the university sponsored student health insurance plan covers you during that time. Only students that pay the fee and plan to keep the insurance can use it. If students use the insurance they will be required to pay the full premium even if they have alternative health insurance.