Navigating HEALTH CARE AT STANFORD

Once you’ve conveyed your health insurance decision, it’s time to make sure you understand how everything will fit together. Over the next few pages, we will explain, a bit more thoroughly, what it means to access care through the Health Fee versus what it means to access care using your chosen health insurance. We will also talk about two special scenarios specific to Cardinal Care: how the plan works for students who go on leaves of absence and coverage decisions/options for students who confer a degree in Autumn Quarter or Winter Quarter.

Health Fee

Remember, for 2023–2024, all students who are enrolled on the main Stanford campus are assessed a quarterly Health Fee, regardless of the type of insurance chosen, that conveys access to care through Vaden Health Services. The Health Fee covers many of the services available through the Vaden portfolio, including primary medical care, counseling and psychological care, and health and wellness programs, among others. For services covered by the Health Fee, students will have no additional outof-pocket expense. What can be a bit confusing, is that some of the services offered at Vaden Health Center are not covered under the Health Fee.

Insurance

For services not covered by the Health Fee (for example, those offered at Vaden Health Center such as Pharmacy or Physical Therapy or for care not offered at Vaden Health Center, such as inpatient care/hospitalization, or emergency care) students will need to use their chosen insurance. Students who chose to remain enrolled in Cardinal Care are encouraged to coordinate medical specialty care (at Stanford University Medical Center, Menlo Medical Clinic and/or Sutter Health) through Vaden Health Center. Students who successfully waived Cardinal Care are also encouraged to seek care at Vaden, but will want to access any needed insurance-covered care according to the terms of their plan.