New Student Health Insurance Plan for 2024–2025 Academic Year
MSU Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) will be administered by Academic HealthPlans (AHP) with Aetna providing the health insurance coverage. The new health insurance plan goes into effect on August 16, 2024.
The SHIP plan will continue to provide robust and affordable health and prescription insurance benefits with access to a nationwide provider and pharmacy network. In addition, the new plan will include the following benefit changes/enhancements:
- Students will be able to choose their Primary Care Physician (PCP)
- No referral needed for specialty care services
- CVS Caremark prescription coverage with over 25 no-cost drugs
- No visit maximums for physical, occupational or speech therapies
- Holistic support for behavioral health
New Student Insurance Health Plan FAQs
Academic HealthPlans (AHP) is the plan administrator. AHP provides the following services:
- Enrollment
- Waiver
- Billing
- Member Portal
- Plan Materials
- Customer Care for Enrollment
Aetna Life Insurance Company is the actual health insurance carrier. Aetna provides the following services:
- Access to a Large Network of Providers
- Claims Customer Service
- Distribution of ID Cards
- Claims Administration
The Student Health Insurance plan allows students the flexibility to seek medical attention with the provider of their choice without the need for a referral.
However, the best place to seek non-emergency medical assistance is at the Olin Health Center on campus. If the student’s health condition requires additional services, the staff at Olin Health Center can assist them in locating a local in-network provider to keep their out-of-pocket cost as low as possible.
The Student Health Insurance Plan covers prescription medicines.
It can take up to 10 days for the student enrollment to be processed and the ID card to become available in the system. The student will receive an email from AHP when their ID card has been processed. The student can access their digital ID card in the Aetna Member Portal.
Carry your ID card with you at all times! When you visit a physician’s office, urgent care, hospital or pharmacy, you will need your card
The Student Health Insurance plan provides coverage for the following services and items.
- Physician visits and hospital charges
- Emergency room
- Surgery, in-patient, and outpatient
- Tests, procedures, and lab services, such as X-rays
- Physical therapy and chiropractic care
- Maternity and prenatal care
- Prescription drugs
- Limitations and exclusions may apply. Please see the Plan Summary available on AHP's website.
The 2024-2025 Aetna health plan will provide similar coverage to the previous year’s health plan. However, there are some updates to co-pays and co-insurance. For plan details, brochures are available.
Prior to having an account with Aetna, you may search their provider network here.
Under the "Don't have a member account" box, select "Plan from an employer". In the “Continue as a guest” section, enter your location and select your provider search radius then click the “Search” button. In the "Select a plan" area, under the “Aetna Standard Plans” section, select “Open Choice PPO” then click the “Continue” button. You may search for your provider needs by category.
It is always recommended that you contact your current and future health providers to ensure they are in-network with the Aetna PPO plan. Providers determine which carrier networks they participate in and will have their most accurate and current in-network status.
The rates for the 2024/2025 academic year can be found here.
Auto-enrolled students (e.g. International Students, College of Human Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine) will be billed on their tuition statement. Voluntary students and students who wish to purchase coverage for their dependents will enroll and purchase coverage online through the AHP website.
As required under the Affordable Care Act, pediatric dental check-up and vision eye exam services are essential health benefits. The Student Health Insurance plan provides coverage for these services for children up through age 19.
Dental and/or vision plans are available for purchase. For plan details, visit the following website.
There can be a few reasons why you can't access the AHP system.
- You forgot your username and password. Please contact AHP regarding issues with username and password. MSU doesn't manage their website.
- Your information has not been processed by AHP yet. Student insurance gets eligibility files daily from MSU. These files must be vetted, edited, and uploaded to AHP. Then, AHP must complete their processing of the files before your information is available on the website. AHP must have your information on file in order to process either your waiver or enrollment. This process can take a week to be completed.
- You recently registered for classes and your information has not been processed yet.
- You already have completed the process in the previous semester.
- The enrollment and waiver deadlines have passed.
- Your eligibility changed based on your enrollment status.
