Dental & Vision Insurance Options

Cardinal Care Dental Benefits

Cardinal Care includes dental benefits administered by Aetna PPO Dental. You may visit any licensed dentist under this plan, but maximum value will be achieved by choosing an Aetna PPO Dental dentist.

Benefits include

• Diagnostic and preventive services at 100% when care is provided by an Aetna PPO Dental dentist. 
• Basic services (such as fillings and simple extractions) at 80% when care is provided by a Aetna PPO Dental dentist. 
• Other basic services (such as endodontics, periodontics, and oral surgery) at 80% when care is provided by an Aetna PPO Dental dentist. 

A $25 deductible per year applies to basic services and the maximum benefit (when an Aetna PPO Dental dentist is used) is $1,000 per plan year. 

Students can identify in network Aetna Dental PPO dentists through the Find a Doc/provider link via the Aetna Dental PPO website and once they select Stanford, they should click on the “View Your Insurance Plan Details”, and then select the item “Aetna Dental PPO”. 

The Aetna Dental PPO page will help students find a provider, review the summary of benefits, or download/print their dental ID card.

Non Aetna PPO Dental network care provided by a licensed dentist is also covered, but at a less rich level of benefits: $50 deductible, coverage at 50%, and a maximum benefit of $750 per calendar year. For further information about Cardinal Care's dental benefits, please visit the Aetna PPO Dental website. 

• Please note that Cardinal Care medical benefits (through Aetna Student Health) cover an initial visit to a provider for injury to natural, sound teeth.

Cardinal Care Vision Benefits

Cardinal Care covers one annual eye examination. By scheduling the exam with an Aetna EPO provider, students enrolled in Cardinal Care will pay the $25.00 copay, and Cardinal Care will cover the remainder of the allowable annual eye exam fee.

Under Cardinal Care, the regular annual eye exam benefit is accessed through medical benefits. Students can make an appointment with an Aetna provider (such as Byers Eye Institute at Stanford Hospitals and Clinics, Lens Crafters, or Pearl Vision Center), and the copay will be $25. The vision benefit doesn’t include the cost of contact lenses or eye glasses, nor does it cover the cost of a contact lens fitting if the provider determines that one is needed. For assistance with the purchase of contact lenses or eye glasses, undergraduates can request it from the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@stanford.edu. Graduate students can request assistance from the Emergency Grant in Aid Fund. 

Students can identify an in network provider by searching on the “Find a Provider/Find a Doc” tab on the Aetna website. Students can search on a city, state, zip code, and specialty. 

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