Health Insurance Overview
Health Insurance is important. A variety of health care services are available at Vaden Health Center on the Stanford campus and many are covered under the Campus Health Service Fee ('Health Fee'). For the services that Vaden 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 but not covered under the Health Fee, such as specialty care, physical therapy, or prescriptions, health insurance is needed.


Introduction to Cardinal Care
In the next sections, we will introduce you to Cardinal Care. We will also provide some information on alternative options for health insurance coverage.
As you explore these options for coverage, it is important to note that, as part of the university's requirement that all students have adequate health insurance coverage, every registered student is automatically enrolled in Cardinal Care in his/her first registered quarter of each academic year. This means that whatever you decide about coverage, you will need to take action in Axess by the applicable deadline to either:
- Acknowledge enrollment in Cardinal Care or
- Waive coverage in Cardinal Care

Insurance vs. Campus Health Service Fee
The Campus Health Service Fee ('Health Fee') is a mandatory fee for all students on the Stanford campus. The fee allows students to have care at Vaden Health Center. Concurrently, all students must also have adequate health insurance for medical needs that are not provided at Vaden or are not covered under the Health Fee.

Students who have questions should submit a Help Ticket to the Health Insurance and Referral Office via ServiceNow.