Waiving SHIP

The Fall 2020 Waiver period closed August 15

  Important Fall 2020 Information about Waiving SHIP

Please read through the important information regarding your SHIP waiver in order to assist you in successfully submitting your waiver for the semester. The link to the application can be found at the bottom of this section once you've read through this important information.

The Fall 2020 waiver period is May 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020. The late waiver period is August 1, 2020 to August 15, 2020 and all late waivers will be subject to a late fee of $75. No waivers will be accepted after August 15, 2020.

As the campus communicates about the Fall 2020 semester plans and as you are deciding what your Fall semester plans are, here is some information about the process for waiving SHIP:

International Students

If you are an international student wanting to waive SHIP because you are staying in your home country:

National healthcare is being accepted if you are staying in your home country. You will still need to complete an online waiver application with your current insurance or healthcare coverage.

  • Your address and phone number do not need to be changed in the "Student Information" section in the application. Because of this, there will be a field that you cannot edit.
  • We understand that your home country's insurance plan will not be listed, please manually add it to the list.

  • If you are denied, submit a waiver appeal stating that you are staying in your home country and studying remotely.

  • Please make sure your address is up to date in your CalCentral profile. They allow you to input an international address.

  • A letter from your department may be requested for confirmation.

Medi-Cal Recipients

If you are a Medi-Cal recipient who is staying outsite of the approved counties:

  • You will still need to complete an online waiver application with your current insurance by the waiver deadline. 
  • Your address and phone number do not need to be changed in the "Student Information" section in the application. Because of this, there will be a field that you cannot edit.

  • When you are denied, submit a waiver appeal stating that you are staying in your home county and studying remotely.

  • Your address must reflect this in CalCentral.
  • A letter from your department may be requested as confirmation.

If you are a Medi-Cal recipient who has decided to study remotely, but on campus:

  • You will still need to complete an online waiver application with your current insurance by the waiver deadline.
  • Your address and phone number do not need to be changed in the "Student Information" section in the application. Because of this, there will be a field that you cannot edit.
  • When you are denied, submit a waiver appeal stating that you are transferring your coverage to Berkeley. You have until October 1, 2020 to do so.
  • Your address must reflect this in CalCentral.
  • A letter from your department may be requested as confirmation.
  • Please keep the SHIP office updated with your status in the eTang Patient Portal.

To check if SHIP is covered in your financial aid package, Undergraduates should check with Cal Student Central on the status or the timing of when Financial Aid will know this information.

To get started, see the Fall 2020 Waiver Application.

Special Programs

Incoming students in the following programs:

  • Master of Public Affairs (MPA)
  • Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT)
    • Principle Leadership Institue (PLI) 
    • Berkeley Educators for Equity and Excellence (BE3)
  • Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) - incoming March class only
  • 11-month Master of Public Health (MPH)

See the Special Programs waiver instructions and waiver application.

Waiver Exclusions

Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) excluded except for 5th year MIDS which either have to waiver or be on SHIP.

For MPA, MAT and MPH students who submit Summer 2020 SHIP Waiver successfully do not need to complete a Fall 2020 SHIP Waiver.

Spring 2020 Waiver Information 

The Spring 2020 waiver period is now closed. 

The Spring 2020 waiver period was December 2, 2019 to  January 1, 2020.  All waivers received between January 1-15, 2020 were subject to a late fee of $75. No waivers were accepted after January 15, 2020.

For more information, please call the Student Health Insurance Office at (510) 642-5700, email your questions to ship@berkeley.edu, or currently enrolled students can send a secure message to the SHIO office via the eTang patient portal.

Waiver Resources

Forms and Worksheets

Resources

Waiver Appeal

If you have submitted your online waiver and it was denied, you may submit a waiver appeal if you believe your insurance does meet the criteria. Your appeal must be submitted within 10 business days from your denial date in order for your waiver to be considered. You must have already completed the online waiver and received a denial to use this form. 

To securely submit your SHIP Waiver Appeal, log in to the eTang patient portal with your Calnet ID and passphrase.

From the welcome page, click "MESSAGES" on the left side menu. Click "New Message". If this is your first time using the eTang patient portal, you will need to complete the compliance forms before proceeding to the appeal form. Please go to the home page and click on "Medical Clearances" on the left to complete any necessary clearances and then follow the rest of the instructions. Under "Student Health Insurance Office (SHIO)", select "Request Student Insurance Plan (SHIP) Waiver Forms" and select "SHIP Appeal Form". Fill out the form completely and click the "Send" button.

If you do not receive a response to your appeal within 30 days, please contact the insurance office at (510) 642-5700 or ship@berkeley.edu. Please note, you may be contacted via secure message in the eTang patient portal if additional documentation is needed to process your appeal.

Waiver Reversal

If you have waived SHIP enrollment for this semester and wish to reverse your waiver, please follow the instructions below.

Log in to the eTang patient portal with your Calnet ID and passphrase.

From the welcome page, click "MESSAGES" on the left side menu. Click "New Message". If this is your first time using the eTang patient portal, you will need to complete the compliance forms before proceeding to the waiver reversal form. Please go to the home page and click on "Medical Clearances" on the left to complete any necessary consents and then follow the rest of the instructions. Under "Student Health Insurance Office (SHIO)", select "Request Student Insurance Plan (SHIP) Waiver Forms". Select "SHIP Waiver REVERSAL Form". Fill out the form completely and click the "Send" button. 

You may be asked for verification from your former insurance company stating the date your coverage ended.

Please call the Student Health Insurance Office at (510) 642-5700, email your questions to ship@berkeley.edu, or, currently enrolled students can send a secure message to the SHIP office via the eTang patient portal.

Topics