Choosing the Right Health Insurance Plan

For the services that Vaden Health Center can’t or doesn’t provide, such as emergency care, hospitalization, or care when a student is traveling away from campus, or for those services that are offered at Vaden Health Center but not covered under the Health Fee, such as specialty care, physical therapy, or prescriptions, health insurance is needed.

Because no one can accurately predict what type of medical care might be needed in the future, and because unforeseen scenarios can crop up in the course of an academic career, Stanford University requires that every registered student carry adequate health insurance. This requirement can be met either through Cardinal Care, Stanford’s student health insurance plan, or through an alternative insurance plan that meets the university’s minimum requirements.

The key is deciphering whether coverage you may already have, or are planning to purchase, will serve you well in the Stanford vicinity and/or wherever else you may be studying or traveling.

You are automatically enrolled in Cardinal Care.

As part of the university’s requirement that all students have adequate health insurance coverage, every registered student, whether remote or onsite, is automatically enrolled in Cardinal Care in his/her/their first registered quarter of each academic year.

All students will be asked to acknowledge their understanding of the Cardinal Care Enrollment Policy in Axess, at which time each student can opt to remain enrolled in the Cardinal Care health insurance coverage OR can choose to submit a request to waive out of the coverage. Requests to waive Cardinal Care health insurance coverage will be granted only when the alternative health insurance coverage meets minimum requirements established by the university.

All Students Must Take Action

Failure to do so can result in significant costs associated with coverage.

You must acknowledge your understanding of the Cardinal Care Enrollment Policy in Axess. If you wish to waive coverage once you have done so, you will need to submit a request to waive by the applicable deadline.

Important Note

As you review the next pages, you’ll see that that Cardinal Care has two tiers of benefits; one geared toward care in the local area with access to Stanford University Medical Center and Sutter Health at a more favorable rate of coverage, and one geared toward care in other locations, both national and international, but with more cost share. In either case, out-ofpocket maximums are set to protect students from unwieldy expense.