New Students and Family

Guidance for Students, Parents, and Family about Health Insurance

Student Health Insurance Program

To Our Incoming Students and their Families:

On behalf of our Wellness and Support services staff, welcome to the University of Northern Colorado!

UNC requires health insurance for*:

  • All undergraduate students enrolled in nine credits or more
  • All graduate students enrolled in six credits or more

*Osteopathic medical students and international students should not rely on the information below but should instead follow the special guidance on our student health insurance plan page for osteopathic medical students and our student health insurance plan page for international students.

We require health insurance because we want to ensure that students can 1) obtain medical care when they need it and 2) avoid semester withdrawals due to illness or injury.

All UNC students who meet the above credit criteria are automatically enrolled in UNC’s student health insurance plan at a cost of $1743 per semester (charged each fall and again each spring). Spring coverage automatically includes summer coverage, so an annual premium of $3486 provides 12 months of uninterrupted coverage.

UNC has partnered with Wellfleet to offer a student health insurance plan (SHIP) that contains robust benefits that support the health of college students.  For a summary of benefits go to Student Coverage with Care 2026-2027.

The plan provides excellent value as well as access to a wide network of providers in Greeley, in Colorado, and nationally through the Cigna provider network. For example, the SHIP:

  • Is a silver-level plan according to Affordable Care Act criteria.
  • Has just a $500 deductible for covered services with in-network providers.
  • Subscribers can access simple medical visits at the on-campus University Health Clinic (UHC) for just a $20 copay, which includes all labs processed within the UHC—if labs are sent outside the UHC for processing, fees apply. (To be clear, the UHC accepts many insurance plans, with cost of services dependent on the patient’s specific health insurance plan.)

Please be aware: An important change for fall 2026 is that student subscribers to the student health insurance plan will generally have to obtain a referral from the University Health Clinic in order to have claims paid for medical care received off-campus. View important exceptions to this rule.

Waiving Enrollment in the Student Health Insurance Plan

It’s easy to waive enrollment in the student health insurance plan if you have other health insurance coverage that better meets your needs. Just complete the online waiver at the start of each academic year by 5 pm on the 10th day of classes. For fall 2026, the waiver deadline is 5 pm on Friday, September 4 for all students except medical students. Students who do not complete the student health insurance waiver by the deadline will be enrolled in the student health insurance plan for the academic year and charged the fall semester premium of $1743. This is a student’s only opportunity of the fall semester to waive enrollment in the student health insurance plan.

The waiver for fall semester 2026 opens on July 1.

Determining the Best Health Insurance For Students

Ultimately, in choosing whether to waive enrollment in the student health insurance plan, students and their families will want to compare the student health insurance plan benefits and costs with the benefits and costs of any other health insurance plan under consideration.

Some suggestions for students and their families before making the decision to waive enrollment in the student health insurance plan:

  • Make sure that any alternative health insurance plan that you are considering provides access to a range of in-network healthcare providers in Greeley, or in any other geography where the student will be studying. You can determine this by going to the health insurance carrier’s website, typing in UNC’s zip code (80639), and searching to see if the plan includes nearby access to the following types of in-network providers:

                  1) medical and mental health providers

                  2) urgent care clinics

                  3) hospitals

                  4) pharmacies

If the alternative plan you are considering does not provide in-network access to healthcare providers in some proximity to where the student will be studying, the student health insurance plan may be a more effective choice for you.

  • The UHC bills under the name “Campus Clinics.” Check with any alternative health insurance plan that you are considering to determine if Campus Clinics in Greeley is in-network with that plan. This will give you a sense about what it will cost the student to access on-campus care in the UHC under the alternative health insurance plan. Even if Campus Clinics is not in-network with your alternative health insurance plan, students can obtain affordable healthcare in the UHC by purchasing the UHC’s Bear Care Plan.
  • You may want to see if the UNC Student Health Insurance Plan’s provider network includes the in-network providers the student will need when the student is away from Greeley (e.g., over breaks and the summer). To do so, visit this SHIP webpage, and
    • Click on “Scroll down for more options.”
    • Click “Find a Provider.”  You’ll be redirected to the Cigna website.  Click on one of the links related to finding a provider in the Cigna PPO Network.  (The student health insurance plan uses the Cigna PPO (PPO, Choice Fund PPO) network.)
    • When you see “How are You Covered”, choose “Employer or School.”
    • Search to see if the Cigna PPO provider network offers the care the student needs when they are not in Greeley. Alternatively, you can contact a healthcare provider’s office directly and ask if they’re in-network with the Cigna PPO network.

Money-Saving Tip for Students and Families

Regardless of what health insurance plan you choose, for students who do not have much history in using health insurance to access healthcare, we encourage them to work with their families to identify hospitals, urgent care clinics and pharmacies that are 1) close to where the student will be studying (typically Greeley) and 2) in-network with the student’s health insurance. This helps ensure the student knows where to turn for in-network (and thus less expensive) care when the University Health Clinic is closed. We encourage students to save this information on their phone so they can access it when they need it.

Loss of Insurance Coverage

Should a student experience a qualifying life event during the academic year (e.g., loss of other insurance coverage), we encourage the student to touch base as soon as possible with our Student Health Insurance Coordinator, Nicky Weglin, to determine if the student can be added to the  student health insurance plan.

If you have any questions regarding student health insurance, please don’t hesitate to contact Nicky Weglin (nicky.weglin@unco.edu or (970) 351-1915).