Stanford University Mandatory Health Insurance Requirement

Overview

Students, while attending Stanford University, must be covered by health insurance that meets specific parameters to ensure that health care needs can be met. Cardinal Care, the student health insurance plan sponsored by Stanford University, is one such option.

• All students, in their first active quarter of each year, are auto-enrolled in the university-sponsored health insurance plan, Cardinal Care, administered by Aetna Student Health. Coverage begins at the start of the entry quarter and ends August 31 each year.
• Although Cardinal Care offers the most robust level of benefits for those who are in the Stanford area, it also provides coverage nationally and internationally.
• Students who have alternative health insurance that meets university minimum coverage requirements may waive Cardinal Care, if desired. For students in the Stanford vicinity, this means having coverage for inpatient and outpatient medical and mental health care in the San Francisco Bay Area, with access to providers at Stanford University Medical Center and/or the Sutter Health Network. 
• In all instances, students who do not waive Cardinal Care coverage by the applicable deadline, will be enrolled in Cardinal Care health insurance for the remainder of the plan year, i.e., through August 31, 2025 and charges will apply (with exception for some Autumn or Winter graduating students who formally petition to come off the plan).

Making a Decision: Stay Enrolled in Cardinal Care or Request a Waiver

New and returning students must make their health insurance decision each year.

All students must acknowledge their understanding of the Cardinal Care Enrollment Policy in Axess no later than the applicable waiver deadline.

Students who wish to remain enrolled in Cardinal Care do not need to take any further action once they have acknowledged the policy (enrollment in Cardinal Care is the default).

Deadlines

Action must be taken by the applicable deadline. Failure to take action could result in  enrollment in more than one health insurance plan and responsibility for associated costs. Please review the information here and be sure to take action by the applicable deadline.