Student Health Insurance

The University of Nebraska system partners with UnitedHealthcare StudentResources to sponsor a competitive medical, dental and prescription insurance plan for students.

A 26-member, system-wide committee of students, faculty and staff spent many months developing recommendations for the 2020-21 student health plan. The committee’s recommendations were unanimously accepted by the NU chief business officers, chancellors, president and Board of Regents Business & Finance Committee.

Details of the 2020-21 plan, which are effective Aug. 1, 2020, through July 31, 2021, are below. For more information, visit:

Students may also contact a UnitedHealthcare StudentResources representative at (866) 351-4262.

Required Participants

Required participants are any students who are required by the University of Nebraska to have health insurance. These include students who are automatically enrolled into the plan by the University and have not waived out of the plan (including most graduate assistants, full-time UNMC students and international students); students who participate in the Fulbright English for Graduate Studies Program; students who participate in the Intensive English (ILUNO) program; and UNO and UNK domestic student-athletes who do not have health insurance.

For 2020-21, required participants in the UnitedHealthcare StudentResources plan will see the following:

Annual premiums will increase by 2 percent.
Deductibles, prescription drug copayments, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums will remain unchanged, including no deductibles or coinsurance for covered medical expenses at the student health center.
No changes are being made to the plan’s coverages.
Domestic graduate assistants who wish to waive participation in the plan will need to provide documentation of participation in another plan with coverage similar to the UnitedHealthcare StudentResources plan. (Applies to UNL, UNO and UNK only)
UnitedHealthcare StudentResources is requiring prior authorization for certain medications in all of its prescription drug programs.

Annual Premiums (2% increase)*

Student: $3,119.16
Spouse: $3,084.82
One Child: $3,103.00
Two or More Children: $6,020.00
Spouse & Two or More Children: $9,114.89

*Premium rates exclude an administrative fee assessed to participants at UNL, UNO and UNK.

Deductibles (Unchanged from 2019-20)

Individual (Preferred Provider): $500
Individual (Out-of-Network): $1,000
Family (Preferred Provider): $1,000
Family (Out-of-Network): $2,000

Coinsurance Payments (Unchanged from 2019-20)

Preferred Provider: 80%
Out-of-Network: 50%

Out-of-Pocket Maximums (Unchanged from 2019-20)

Individual (Preferred Provider): $2,200
Individual (Out-of-Network): $4,400
Family (Preferred Provider): $4,400
Family (Out-of-Network): $8,800

Voluntary Participants

Voluntary participants are any students who are not required by the University of Nebraska to have health insurance.

The following rates will apply for voluntary participants in the UnitedHealthcare Student Resources plan*:

2019-20

Student: $3,057.16
Spouse: $3,022.82
One Child: $3,041.00
Two or More Children: $5,896.00
Spouse & Two or More Children: $8,928.89

2020-21

Student: $6,669.16
Spouse: $6,634.82
One Child: $6,653.00
Two or More Children: $13,120.00
Spouse & Two or More Children: $19,764.89

*Premium rates exclude an administrative fee assessed to participants at UNL, UNO and UNK.

In addition:

Deductibles, prescription drug copayments, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums will remain unchanged, including no deductibles or coinsurance for covered medical expenses at the student health center.
No changes are being made to the plan’s coverages.
UnitedHealthcare StudentResources is requiring prior authorization for certain medications in all of its prescription drug programs.

The 2020-21 Process

This is a challenging time for the healthcare industry, and the University of Nebraska system, like most colleges and universities across the country, has faced the increasingly difficult task of managing dramatically rising student health premiums.

The University is not required to make its student health insurance plan available to voluntary participants, but the University’s goal has been to sponsor a competitive plan that gives students another option to consider when thinking about their health insurance needs.

As planning began for 2020-21, University leadership was well aware there would be no easy choices given the challenges facing the student health plan: declining enrollment, a growing number of high-dollar claims, and significantly higher claims spending than premiums collected.

A 26-member, system-wide committee of student, faculty and staff was convened to carefully weigh and debate what might be considered a menu of bad options. The University also engaged an independent consultant to analyze its plan, compare it to peer plans, and recommend potential options going forward.

After evaluating all the options, the University has decided to again make its student health plan available to voluntary participants in 2020-21. However, the system-wide committee came to the difficult recommendation to implement a “split premium” rate to price voluntary participants differently than those students who are required to purchase health insurance through the University. Voluntary participants make up about 20% of the student plan’s population but account for 35% of claims spending, a trend that impacts all participants under a single premium rate structure.

This change is difficult, but without it, the future sustainability of the plan was in doubt.

The committee’s recommendations were accepted unanimously by the NU system’s chief business officers, chancellors, president and the Board of Regents’ Business and Finance Committee.

Unfortunately, the change means that 2020-21 premiums for voluntary participants will increase significantly.

Nevertheless, the Platinum-rated plan – the best rating available – still provides University of Nebraska students the best coverage for the best value that a student can find on the market today, based on a review of similar plans on the health market exchanges. For example, a student-only Gold plan on the healthcare.gov exchange averages about $7,500 per year, before any federal subsidies for which an enrollee might qualify.

Future Outlook

Future pricing trends continue to be a significant concern. The University may need to evaluate the sustainability of allowing voluntary enrollment in its student health plan in the future. While some of NU’s peers do not allow voluntary enrollment, the University’s intention is to continue to provide a voluntary option for students as long as it can sponsor an option that is competitive in the marketplace. The University will continue to explore every available option and will engage a system-wide committee to study possible paths forward for 2021-22.

Other Options for Health Insurance

Voluntary enrollees in the plan may want to consider their options for health insurance going forward. Those options include:

Nebraska residents may be eligible for Medicaid under the state’s expanded program beginning October 1, 2020. More information about Medicaid expansion in Nebraska is available here.
Nebraska residents under the age of 19, or those with a dependent child under the age of 19, may be eligible for the Nebraska Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). More information is available here.
Students may select a plan from the Affordable Care Act Marketplace and possibly qualify for federal subsidies that would reduce their monthly premium. Choosing not to enroll in the University’s plan would create a “qualifying event” that would allow a student to enroll immediately in a new plan from the Marketplace. Marketplace options may be explored here.
Edusure, a private health insurance clearinghouse for students, offers individual health plans. Individuals can fill out an application and review options here.
Those age 26 or under may be able to obtain health insurance through a parent’s plan.
Students may be able to obtain health insurance through a spouse’s plan.