Dear Graduate Students:

As you plan for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year, we wanted to share information on health insurance plans available to graduate students.

As a graduate student at UT Austin, you have different options for obtaining health insurance through the university, depending on whether you hold a fellowship or benefits-eligible academic employment position as a teaching assistant (TA), assistant instructor (AI) or Graduate Research Assistant (GRA).

All students at the university may enroll in Academic Blue, which provides excellent care at an affordable price. Benefits-eligible academic employees (AIs, TAs and GRAs) are automatically enrolled in UT Select, the university’s employee health plan, and receive state premium-sharing dollars to offset the cost of their enrollment.

Graduate students with fellowships valued at $10,000 or more are eligible to enroll in either plan, but Academic Blue is more cost effective for fellowship students since they do not receive premium sharing dollars to offset the cost of UT Select.

Below are updates with new policies, enrollment deadlines and links to more information and resources.

Academic Blue

Starting this fall, students seeking coverage through Academic Blue must enroll each semester (fall, spring and summer) to maintain health insurance. Formerly, students enrolled in Academic Blue on annual basis. UT System made this change to prevent issues related to retroactive insurance cancellations for students who no longer meet academic eligibility requirements.
The deadline to enroll in Academic Blue for the 2020 fall semester is Sept. 16, 2020. Students can enroll through the Academic Blue online portal.
UT GAP Coverage is available for students currently on Academic Blue who are scheduled to start a benefits-eligible academic employment position (TA, AI or GRA) during the fall. Academic Blue coverage ends Aug. 15, and UT Select coverage begins Sept. 1, so students can purchase GAP Coverage to maintain coverage during this time. GAP Coverage can be purchased through the online portal.
If you are currently enrolled in UT Select and you choose to enroll in Academic Blue, you must take action to drop UT Select. For more information, please refer to the Change of Status webpage.

UT Select

New, benefits-eligible academic graduate student employees (TAs, AIs and GRAs) will be auto-enrolled in UT Select on Sept. 1, 2020 after their departments have approved their appointments in Workday and the students have completed the necessary Workday onboarding tasks.
Academic employees should review the New Student Employee Checklist to learn more about their onboarding responsibilities, optional insurance plans and the 31-day initial enrollment period.

Fellowship Holders

Graduate students with a fellowship valued at $10,000 or more are able to choose between Academic Blue or UT Select. They may also mix and match coverage between the plans (i.e enroll in Academic Blue medical, and UT Select dental).
The following resources are available to help you make the decision that is best for you and your families:
- Academic Blue Brochure - Includes information on monthly premiums, covered medical procedures and information on plan structure (i.e., what the plan pays versus what the student pays).
- UT Select Webpage - Provides information about UT’s employee insurance plans, including information related to costs, covered medical procedures and information on plan structure.
As previously mentioned, graduate student fellows are not eligible for premium-sharing on the UT Select plan, and are responsible for the full cost of monthly premiums.
Fellows may also explore the health insurance and enrollment options available through the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace at Healthcare.gov.
The marketplace offers health insurance plans for a variety of needs, and depending upon your income, you may qualify for premium tax credits that you can use to lower the cost of you monthly premiums.
For additional information about marketplace plans or plan enrollment, use one of the many contact options available through HealthCare.gov.

Sincerely,

MARK J. T. SMITH
Dean of the Graduate School
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin

This communication is from Graduate Students – Official.
View this email online.

The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | 78712 US