Graduate Assistant Health Insurance

United Healthcare Health Insurance Coverage

Graduate students employed as Research Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Service Assistants, or have Fellowships (GA's) are eligible for health insurance paid for by the college in which the student is employed or the funding agency.  Insurance is a mandatory benefit and provided on a semester by semester basis (WWAMI enrollment excluded).  Enrollment is not automatic. Graduate students must provide the Graduate School with a copy of their signed contract letter and submit the online enrollment form to finalize their enrollment process. Once the semester of your contract has passed, there will be no retro-active enrollments. You will be responsible for all fees incurred due to not enrolling in a timely manner.

Please submit your enrollment form by the following deadlines to ensure early, seamless coverage and benefits:

Fall Semester

  • August 15 for all students with fall assistantships and fellowships.  GA’s must be enrolled in fall semester coursework by this deadline.
  • End of the first week in September (drop/add deadline) for late hires.

Spring Semester

  • December 15 for all students with spring or spring/summer assistantships and fellowships. GA’s must be enrolled for spring coursework by this deadline.
  • End of third week in January (drop/add deadline) for late hires.

 Summer Semester

  • May 15 for all students with summer assistantships and fellowships.  BOR policy does NOT require enrollment in coursework for any student workers, unless you are needing summer coursework or graduating (6 credits required). Students should be enrolled in summer coursework by the deadline.
  • End of 3rd week in May (drop/add deadline) for late hires.

For GA's having prior coverage (spousal, partner, parental, etc.), the University of Alaska Anchorage assistantship benefit is an excess policy; it is always secondary and can help towards copays and deductibles. However, if GA's have Medicaid or Tricare (Military Policy), the GA policy is the primary benefit policy, and Medicaid and Tricare are secondary benefit policies.

The GA health insurance plan does NOT include vision and dental coverage for basic services. For 2023-2024, you may enroll for dental and vision benefits offered through UHOne for which you pay the premiums. 

  1. What happens to the students who have purchased the SureBridge plans?

Students who have purchased the SureBridge plans will continue their coverage for as long as they continue to pay their premiums.  The SureBridge plans are not being cancelled overall, we just won’t be selling them anymore. 

  1. What products are available through our UHOne site?

As of July, students can enroll in standalone dental and vision plans through our UHOne site.   Students in Alaska who need both dental and vision coverage are able to add a vision “rider” to their dental plan in order to save on premiums.  More products may be rolled out in the future through the UHOne relationship.

  1. How much do the UHOne products cost?

Since these are individual plans rather than group plans, the premiums will vary based on the census data entered by the student during enrollment. In Alaska, vision coverage can only be purchased as a rider with dental coverage. 

Plan

Dental Only

With Vision Rider

Primary Dental

$21.24

$29.19

Primary Preferred Dental

$31.88

$39.83

Premier Choice Dental

$41.03

$48.98

UHCSR Dental Flyer (2023-2024)
UHCSR Vision Flyer (2023-2024)

4. How does enrollment in the UHOne plans occur?

Similar to the SureBridge process, a link will show on uhcsr.com for students to use to navigate to the custom Student Resources UHOne microsite.  From this site students will make their selections and sign up for coverage.  Enrollment in these plans is available year-round and premiums are paid monthly. Go to www.uhcsr.com/UAA > 2023-2024 plan year > Voluntary Dental/Vision. You will find the link for OHOne. 

Healthcare Resources/Information:

Health Insurance 101

2023-2024 Summary Brochure 

2023-2024 Certificate of Coverage 

  • Do you want to enroll a spouse or other dependents?  Dependents may be added to the policy after student enrollment is confirmed. Due to COVID-19, a paper form is no longer used. Please contact United Healthcare Customer Service at 1-866-141-1958/TTY 711 for general information and to enroll dependents in the graduate health insurance plan.
  • Are you traveling? Check out your Global Emergency Services benefits (outlined in the Summary Brochure above) before traveling.

Graduate Assistant/Fellows 2023-2024  Plan Coverage Dates:

  • Fall Semester - August 25, 2023 to January 4, 2024
  • Spring Semester -January 5, 2024 to May 16, 2024
  • Spring/Summer - January 5, 2024 to August 24, 2024
  • Summer Semester - May 17, 2024 to August 24, 2024
  • Annual Coverage: August 25, 2023 to August 24, 2024 (RA's and Fellows only)

Initiating United Healthcare Coverage*  

The Basics:

  1. The Graduate School must a copy of your signed contact letter (email to Elisa Mattison) as soon as possible.
  2. Complete the Health Insurance Enrollment form
  3. Look for emails from the UAA Graduate School to confirm your enrollment submission has been processed by United Healthcare Student Resources. Once you have received your email, then...
  4. Go to myaccount.uhcsr.com. If you are new to the graduate insurance plan, click on "Register now". You will need to register with HealthSafe ID first before logging in the first time. If you are renewing, then click on "Sign In". If that doesn’t work, go back to "Register now". Please use your UAA student ID number for purposes of logging in.

  5. Contact the Graduate School if you encounter any issues with coverage*. 

*Students awarded a graduate assistantship or fellowship must follow each step every semester for which they are awarded an assistantship or fellowship unless awarded annually or for spring/summer. Failure to do so will result in delayed coverage and late processing of your tuition remission payment.  Failure to enroll is not an excuse for lack of coverage. Reminder: once the semester of your contract has passed, there will be no retro-active enrollments. You will be responsible for all fees incurred due to not enrolling in a timely manner. 

Problems? 

If students are unable to complete their enrollment each semester, they must contact Elisa Mattison as soon as possible.

If you have problems with your coverage, please contact Elisa Mattison with questions.