Waiver Deadline is September 15th for Students admitted in the Fall and the deadline is February 15th for students admitted in the Spring. Waiver Form only needs to be completed once if admitted in the fall and is still valid for both Fall and Spring semesters. A new Enrollment/Waiver Form will need to be completed each new academic year in the Fall semester. 

Criteria for Waiving SHIP Plan

To be eligible to waive the UMB SHIP, you must be currently enrolled in a health insurance plan that meets UMB’s waiver requirements. The following criteria are used by Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk when reviewing and approving waiver requests:

• For approval of a waiver, the level of benefits provided through a health insurance plan must be fully compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Coverage is considered comparable if it provides students with access to local providers and a range of services in the state of Maryland.
• Services include but are not limited to, preventive and non-urgent care, emergency care, surgical care, inpatient and outpatient hospitalization, lab work, diagnostic X-rays, physical therapy and chiropractic care, prescription drugs, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. 

If a plan is an HMO, it is very likely that coverage is limited, or not available, outside of the HMO’s service area. Before deciding whether or not to waive coverage, students should compare their current health insurance plan to the UMB Student Health Insurance Plan for cost-sharing levels (deductibles and coinsurance) and access to in-network providers. 

Plans that are not considered comparable include plans that only provide emergency services in Maryland, plans that are purchased on a short-term basis, international or travel insurance plans, out-of-state HMOs or other restricted managed care plans, and out-of-state Medicaid plans.

How to Waive the SHIP Plan

To waive SHIP insurance, select the waive option once logged in at www.gallagherstudent.com/umb and provide proof of adequate health insurance. 

For each new policy year, Gallagher’s website will not be available to complete an Enrollment or Waiver Form until the last week of June. Students will receive an email from Gallagher Student Health & Special Risk to your UMB email address providing instructions to complete the forms once the website is available. 

Approval

Once a full-time student receives an approved waiver, the Student Health Insurance Premium will be removed from their tuition and fees bill. Full-time students who are not approved for a waiver and do not voluntarily enroll in the SHIP will be enrolled by UMB at the end of the waiver period with retroactive coverage back to August 1 for the Fall semester and for students starting in the Spring, retroactive coverage back to February 1.

If your waiver is denied, you will receive an email notice from Gallagher stating the reason you were denied.  If you feel the denial was in error, you can modify your submitted form or upload supporting documentation for review. For information regarding why your waiver was denied and what steps you can take to address the denial, please visit the Gallagher website. 

Waivers can be viewed at any time; however, waivers can only be edited for resubmission within the designated waiver period.

Waivers are processed using both student and system provided information.  Determination of approval or denial is based on information that is available at the time of processing and is not an indication of future approvals or denials.

Missed the Waiver Deadline

Students subject to the SHIP enrollment/waiver requirement who missed the published UMB waiver deadline for Fall or Spring can appeal for a late waiver by providing justification for why they could not apply for a waiver prior to the deadline. Please contact studentaccounthelp@umaryland.edu for assistance with filing an appeal with Gallagher. 

The appeal timeframe is as follows:

Fall Semester: September 16th through October 1st

Spring Semester: February 16th through March 1st