Insurance

Health Insurance Requirements

All students attending Bard College are required to have health insurance. Students are automatically enrolled in the College’s health insurance plan unless the student and/or parent/guardian applies and is approved for a waiver. A link to the online waiver request can be found at MyStudentMedical.com.

If a waiver not approved the student will be enrolled in the Bard College health insurance. The cost of the insurance will be reflected on the bill from Student Accounts. This charge is separate from the Student Health Fee which all undergraduates have to pay, and which is billed by the semester. The Student Health Fee covers services rendered at Health Service's on-campus clinic, but not any medications which may be dispensed.

Bard/CDPHP Student Accident and Sickness Insurance

Plan Type: National EPO/PPO
There is a $100 deductible that must be met before the insurance benefits are payable. This deductible is waived for contraception. Students may receive bills, for example from LabCorp or an outside doctor even if the provider is in-network, and these need to be paid up to $100. Once the deductible has been met, coverage will be as described in the information available at MyStudentMedical.com; most services are covered at 80% with the balance being the member's responsibility.

Students will be able to use the insurance card to obtain prescription medications at a pharmacy or via mail order with a co-pay as specified in the brochure once the deductible has been met and subject to the CDPHP formulary.

There is a $100 copay each time a student is seen in an emergency room. This may be in addition to the $100 deductible if that is the first time the student uses the insurance.

This plan covers physical therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture with some limitations.

Bard/CDPHP Resources

• Summary of Benefits: - Click here to view the a summary of the policy.
• Provider Look-up - Click here to find a provider using the CDPHP provider search. Scroll to bottom of the page.
• Claim Form - Click here to download a CDPHP claim form
• Claims Status - Click here to check on the status of a submitted claim. You will need to register as a CDPHP member to access this service.

What if I waive the Bard insurance?

If you waived the Bard Health Insurance, you can be seen at Health Service, if you paid the STUDENT HEALTH FEE. This fee is completely separate from the Health Insurance fee and is automatically charged to all students studying on the Annandale campus. The student health service fee covers the cost of the visit plus any in house tests, which includes strep, mono, pregnancy, Covid antigen (rapid) test, flu, and urinalysis. 

It is your responsibility to check if your insurance plan covers the student in New York State, and to request out of state coverage if necessary. In our experience, many of the plans provided through the Massachusetts insurance exchanges and Kaiser do NOT work in this area, except for in emergency situations. Out of state Medicaid usually also only covers emergency room visits. This means that simple tests such as wound or urine cultures, STI tests, or tests for Lyme ordered by Health Service providers will not be covered and you may be billed the full cost of the test. Some of these insurance plans even limit medication coverage to prescriptions written by a provider who belongs to that particular plan. Also, there are very few Tri-Care providers in the area and students would have to travel to Kingston (which is not accessible by any of the local public transportation options) or further to see a Tri-Care provider.

It is also your responsibility to familiarize yourself with your family/private insurance plan. If your plan is a PPO or HMO, you may need to find a participating provider and verify benefits.To find a provider in your network you can call member services or visit your insurance company's website (member services numbers & website information are usually listed on the back of your insurance card). You should call or visit member services before you schedule an appointment, otherwise you risk benefits being paid at a reduced rate or not at all.