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Many universities and colleges automatically enroll students into an insurance plan. If you take a look online at the fees you paid, typically in the Fall or Winter term, you may be able to see if you have paid for an insurance plan. Look at the fees you paid in the Fall term, unless you started in a different term, and look for a payment that may be phrased something similar to “health and dental” or “insurance.” Typically you would be required to take an action to opt-out of the insurance, so if you don’t recall opting-out and you’re a full time student, you likely have insurance. Some students are completely unaware they have paid for this insurance and thus they will never use its benefits.
Each student insurance plan is unique to that university. Differences in plans can include what percentage of a session fee they are willing to cover (such as covering 80% of the cost or 100%), whether a physician’s referral is required to use the insurance, the type of credentials required of a practitioner (such as a Social Worker, Psychologist, Counsellor), and the amount you can spend per year. Do note that when looking for a mental health clinician who is a counsellor or therapist, they may need to be members of a professional regulatory bodies to be considered an eligible service provider. Here at My Student Wellbeing, we make sure all our clinicians are registered with a professional organizations so you don’t have to worry about their credentials.
You’ll be able to search up information about your insurance by putting in a search engine something like “*your university/college student insurance.” If you want help figuring out the details around your student insurance plan, reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help you out!
There’s two ways you can use your insurance coverage.
Method 1 – Direct Billing: You find a clinician who accepts direct billing, which is where they will take your information to bill your insurance provider directly. By having your clinician direct bill, you do not have to pay any money up front. If, for some reason, your insurance coverage doesn’t work, then you would have to pay out of pocket, such as by credit card. If you’re confident you have insurance coverage then direct billing removes the worry of charging your fees to your credit card and forgetting to claim it for reimbursement.
Method 2 – Self Pay and Get Reimbursed: Another option to use your insurance benefits is for you to pay yourself, with credit card or any other method of accepted payment, and then submit your receipt to your insurance company. Some insurance plans have convenient apps which allow you to create an account and easily upload your receipt for you to be reimbursed later. The time it takes for you to be reimbursed can differ between insurance companies so it’s hard to say how long it would take for you to get your money. Just make sure you don’t forget to submit your receipt for reimbursement, because some insurance companies may have a limited window where they’ll allow you to submit a receipt for reimbursement.