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Graduate Student Health Insurance Program

To maintain active health insurance coverage for the 2022-23 academic year, students should enroll or submit a waiver on the JCB insurance website beginning in mid to late June 2022. Details are below.

Visit this site regularly, as it will be updated with information and instructions. 

Health Insurance Requirement

Life without health insurance carries serious risk to your health, wellness, and personal finances. To ensure that all graduate students carry adequate health coverage, San Diego State University has introduced the comprehensive Graduate Student Insurance Program (GSHIP). GSHIP expands your coverage options to include an excellent health insurance plan the university has contracted with the insurance carrier Anthem, designed and priced for our graduate student population. 

The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires taxpayers and their dependents to carry health insurance. In California, those who have not obtained health care must pay a tax penalty of at least $800.

Since the Fall 2021 semester, all SDSU graduate students will be required to provide proof of ACA-compliant health insurance coverage. Students with existing health insurance through an employer, family member, or any other source are required only to provide evidence of coverage once per year. 

Your Options

Students still have multiple options to satisfy the requirement for health insurance, as follows:

• For most graduate students, they may show proof of existing insurance from an employer (including SDSU), a family member, or another source of Affordable Care Act-compliant coverage.
• Graduate students may sign up through Covered California, which has dramatically expanded subsidies in recent months for those who qualify based on income.
• Graduate students may choose to proceed with enrollment in a graduate student health insurance plan from Anthem offered through the university.  Students will be able to use their financial aid and work with Student Account Services on payment plans for this cost, should they choose to meet the requirement by proceeding with enrollment in this plan. 

Assistance is Available

For questions about health insurance options or referrals, our Healthcare Coverage Coordinator is here to assist you. To request a one-on-one appointment with our Healthcare Coverage Coordinator, please fill out the online Healthcare Connection Coordinator Virtual Assistance form.

Dedicated SDSU staff are available to counsel students without health care coverage (or temporarily between plans), and provide advice on selecting among a range of health insurance options. Those struggling to afford any of the available options may be eligible for financial support from SDSU's Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT).

Exemption Requests

SDSU supports exemption requests on the basis of deeply held religious beliefs. To request this type of exemption, email [email protected] with the subject line, “Graduate Student Health Insurance Religious Exemption Request”. Note that students requesting this exemption may be asked to provide supporting documentation.

All communications will be sent to the student's @sdsu.edu email address.

Additional Information

If you are an SDSU graduate student, consider which of the following best describes your situation:

1. I have a ACA-compliant health insurance already.

Beginning in mid to late June (specific date to be updated soon) and through September 15, you can opt out and waive enrollment in the Anthem Blue Cross insurance plan by following these steps: To opt out, take the following steps: 

• Visit JCBins.com
• Search for and choose “San Diego State University”
• Select the 2022-2023 plan year and “Domestic graduate student”
• Provide your proof of coverage by uploading an image of your current insurance card
• Monitor your SDSU email for follow up from JCB Insurance regarding approval of your waiver or requests for any follow-up information.
• Once you receive approval, you’re all set! This action is required just once per academic year.

2. I do not have health insurance.

If you do not have health insurance, you have the following options available to you:

• You can choose to proceed with enrollment in a health insurance plan offered through SDSU. For detailed information about this Anthem Blue Cross plan, the summary of benefits and coverage, the Anthem medical provider network, and conditions, visit JCBins.com, enter San Diego State University, select the 2022-2023 plan year and “Domestic graduate student”.

• You can explore your eligibility for low-cost or no-cost Medi-Cal insurance. Covered California (the U.S. Affordable Care Act exchange in California) also offers subsidies to assist with monthly costs. The university has advising and support for both Medi-Cal and Covered CA exploration and enrollment. To access support, complete the online Health Insurance Enrollment Specialists form.

3. I do not have health insurance and cannot afford the Athem Plan. I do not know what to do.

If you are struggling to afford health insurance, you should first explore your eligibility for low-cost or no-cost Medi-Cal insurance. Covered California (the U.S. Affordable Care Act exchange in California) also offers subsidies to assist with monthly costs. SDSU has advising and support for both Medi-Cal and Covered CA exploration and enrollment. To access support, complete the online Health Insurance Enrollment Specialists form to get connected to assistance.

If you are not eligible for these options, or if the cost creates a financial hardship for you, you can reach out to SDSU's Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT) to learn about financial assistance that may be available to you from the university.

• Fall 2022 Session

2022-2023 Plan Information

Plan and waiver details will be available on JCBIns.com in mid to late June. Return to this site for more information in upcoming days.

Resources to better understand your health insurance plan

For Faculty

SDSU faculty interested in sponsoring a graduate student's health insurance with SDSURF funds should complete a GSHIP Authorization Request. For Fall 2022, submit the form by August 15, 2022.

* This authorization request enables direct billing for the student’s health insurance plan, with no out of pocket costs.

* Graduate students sponsored through your request will be enrolled in the insurance plans directly.  Please advise them not to take any actions through the JCBins.com student portal.

GSHIP Frequently Asked Questions