Student Health Insurance

The School of Medicine is required to ensure students have a certain level of health insurance coverage while enrolled in medical school. The Zucker School of Medicine has a student health insurance plan available for purchase through Gallagher Student Health & Special Risk. If you have health insurance elsewhere it must satisfy the criteria listed below and you must complete the waiver process through Gallagher.

Your health insurance plan MUST:

• Be compliant with the Affordable Care Act.
• Cover the following services (but not limited to): preventive and non-urgent care, emergency care, surgical care, inpatient and outpatient hospitalization, lab work, diagnostic x-rays, physical therapy, chiropractic care, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment.
• Be provided by a company licensed to do business in the United States, with a U.S. claims payment office and a U.S. phone number.
• Cover doctors and hospitals near campus as well as elsewhere if you plan to travel during your time as a student (away rotations, summer research, etc.). Out-of-state Medicaid does not meet our coverage criteria.
• Remain in effect if you are a registered student at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
• Cover pre-existing conditions.

Please be aware that if you purchase a Medicaid plan offered through the New York Health exchange your application for a waiver will generally be approved. However, before waiving the school health insurance in lieu of Medicaid, we strongly encourage you to consider the gaps in coverage that you may experience with Medicaid. Examples of this are: Medicaid may not cover you out of state or if you travel abroad, referral options may be limited within the proximity of the school and you may find yourself having to wait for specialist appointments or you may not be able to access providers when you need them. It is for these reasons that we advise you to consider the risks of enrolling in a Medicaid plan.