Kalamazoo College Health Insurance Waiver/Enrollment

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Important Annual Dates

  • MAY – The ANNUAL health insurance enrollment/waiver period is May-August to be completed at Wellfleet Student Health
  • JULY 1 – Athletes, Land-Sea leaders, and study abroad participants must enroll or waive by July 1st.
  • AUGUST 1 – All students must waive the College health insurance plan by August 1 to avoid the charge being placed on the student account. Health insurance coverage begins (and the charge is placed on the student account) for enrolled students and students who have taken no action.
  • SEPTEMBER 30 – DEADLINE to waive and have the charge removed from the student account. Students who do not complete the waiver by the September 30 deadline will be enrolled and billed for the Kalamazoo College Student Health Insurance Plan for the entire policy year.
  • Friday 3rd Week Fall Quarter; 5 pm – DEADLINE by which a student can appeal the decision if their waiver is denied.
  • JULY 31 – Date that coverage ends for students enrolled in the College Health Insurance Plan.

College Health Insurance Plan

All students default to enrolled in the College health insurance if no action is taken each academic year. In an effort to ensure all students have access to healthcare and are sufficiently covered by health insurance in case of illness or injury, Kalamazoo College requires students to carry adequate health insurance. To comply with Kalamazoo College’s Health Insurance Policy, the ANNUAL health insurance enrollment/waiver period is May-August to be completed at Wellfleet Student Health. If the College health insurance is waived by September 30, it will be removed from the bill. If it is NOT waived by September 30, you will automatically be enrolled in and billed for the student insurance plan for the entire policy year.

Kalamazoo College Health Insurance Costs and Other Coverage

Please see full policy for details at Wellfleet Student Health.

  • Yearly Enrollment: $1330 for coverage from 8/1/22-7/31/23.
  • Deductibles: $200/ individual at a preferred provider. All visits/services performed in the Student Health Center have no copay and no deductible.
  • Co-payments/co-insurance: 20% coinsurance.
  • Out of pocket expenses maximum: $4,000/individual at preferred providers.
  • Covered medications tiered copays: $0, $10, $25, $75, $100; please see policy for details at Wellfleet Student Health.
  • Preventative services covered at any in-network provider and at the Student Health Center.
  • There are in-network providers including doctors, urgent care, hospital, and pharmacies throughout Kalamazoo and the US. There is out of network coverage abroad; please see policy for copay/co insurance details at Wellfleet Student Health.
  • The plan covers conditions or treatments such as pregnancy, psychiatric care, and physical therapy, the same as any illness.
  • Until age 19 specialists such as eye doctors and dentists are covered. Age 19 and up has limited coverage.
    • Vision Coverage Details
    • Pediatric Dental Care Coverage is limited to 2 preventive exams every 12 months to the end of the month in which the Insured Person turns age 19.

Voluntary Dental Coverage Information

Voluntary Vision and Dental Coverage Information

Waiving the Kalamazoo College Health Insurance Plan

Please note, to waive the Kalamazoo College Student Health Insurance Plan, your health insurance must meet the following requirements:

  • based in the United States (compliant with all Federal PPACA guidelines)
  • have in-network coverage for non-emergency care in the Kalamazoo area (must not be out of state Medicaid or out of state HMO).

These requirements will be verified during the waiver process. If your insurance doesn’t meet the requirements, you will be enrolled in the Kalamazoo College Student Health Insurance Plan August 1.

For tax form purposes, the Student Health Insurance website WILL ask for your Social Security number.

All international students are enrolled in the Kalamazoo College Student Health Insurance Plan and cannot waive off the plan.

Students on study abroad need to have either US based insurance that has passed the college’s waiver process or the College insurance. Insurances issued by the study abroad host country cannot be used in place of the College insurance or insurance that has passed the waiver process.

Please note: The college does not charge an administrative or processing fee. The cost is to purchase health insurance coverage for one year for the student.

Waiver Information

If you have insurance, you must have an approved waiver or you will be responsible for the full school year premium. Insurance premiums cannot be prorated. To receive your approved waiver:

  1. Visit Wellfleet Student Health during the waiver period.
  2. Click on the Waive or Enroll button.
  3. Returning students can login using your previously created username and password (you can reset your password if needed).
    Entering students can “Create a New Account” using your student ID (seven numerical digits beginning with 0) and your date of birth. You will be instructed to create an account which you will use to login for enrollment/waivers each academic year.
  4. Continue to complete the Waiver or Enrollment form.
  5. Upon completion of the enrollment or waiver, you will receive a confirmation number and a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation number by email, then you have not completed the enrollment/waiver process.

Additional Health Insurance Resources

Students are given the opportunity each year before fall quarter starts to evaluate their health insurance coverage needs. Students can only change insurance coverage outside of this time if they have a qualifying event. It is your responsibility to review your health insurance coverage and become aware of special requirements and provisions of your plan, such as deductibles/copays, in-network versus out-of-network providers’ charges (the Student Health Center is “out of network” for all insurances, except for the Student Health Insurance Plan), and prescription coverage. Your health insurance provider’s reimbursement policies and preferred providers, pharmacies, laboratories, etc. should be well understood by the student prior to arrival at “K.” Each student will need to carry a copy of their insurance card with them and have knowledge of their prescription co-pay amount.

Additional resources for Health insurance include:

  • Healthcare.gov for Health Insurance Marketplace resources
  • Health Coverage Basics for the state of Michigan – includes links to apply for Medicaid (an individual cannot receive Medicaid benefits simultaneously in two states. This means you will no longer have benefits in your original state). You will need to request your campus box number to provide a local address.
  • Preventative Health Services covered under the Affordable Care Act

Suggested Questions

When choosing among different health care plans, you’ll need to read the fine print and ask lots of questions such as those listed below. For answers to these questions for the K College Health Insurance Plan view the Kalamazoo College Health Costs and Other Coverage section. You can also see the full Kalamazoo College Health Insurance plan at Wellfleet Student Health:

  • What are the deductibles?
  • What are the co-payments/co-insurance?
  • What is the most I will have to pay out of my own pocket to cover expenses?
  • Are preventative services covered at my primary care doctor, at the college health center, etc.?
  • Am I able to be covered at any doctor, urgent care, hospital, or pharmacy I choose in Kalamazoo, at home, throughout the US, abroad, etc.?
  • Does the plan cover special conditions or treatments such as pregnancy, psychiatric care and physical therapy?
  • Will the plan cover medications my physician might prescribe?
  • Are specialists such as eye doctors and dentists covered?