Health Insurance

Health Insurance & Financial Aid

All students at Duke are required to have adequate health insurance. Therefore, all students are automatically charged for the Duke Student Medical Insurance (SMIP).

If you do not need SMIP coverage, you must submit the health insurance waiver online by Sept. 14! If you do not complete the steps by the deadline published by the Duke Student Health Insurance Office, you will be charged for the plan and the cost cannot be removed.

Returning students: If you were enrolled in Duke’s plan last year and received an insurance grant to pay for it, proceed to "enroll" again. You do not need to complete a waiver. Your subsequent financial aid offers will automatically include funding to cover the cost.

Incoming, 1st year students: If you do not have any form of home coverage, please proceed to submit a waiver as shown below:

Instructions on selecting health insurance coverage

Enter yourself as the subscriber with an ID of “0000000”

If your waiver request is APPROVED, your Duke insurance charge will be removed from your bill.

If your waiver request is approved, your Duke insurance charge will be removed. You'll complete this process every year to waive the charge.

Learn more about waiving

If your waiver request is DENIED, we'll cover your Duke insurance charge.

If you're on need-based aid and your waiver request is denied, we'll cover the cost automatically if you complete the steps by the deadline. We'll renew the aid for the charge each year.

Learn more about waiving

Additional Health Insurance Information

What office should I contact if I have questions about my waiver request?

Contact the Duke Student Health insurance team at insurance@studentaffairs.duke.edu. You can visit their website here.

I don't have insurance at all. Do I still need to submit the waiver request?

If you do not have any form of health insurance to report, you will still complete the waiver in the specific manner described above to receive a denial. This will ensure your automatic enrollment in Duke’s plan and that our office covers the cost for those on need-based aid.

I have health insurance, but I know it won't work for Duke's requirements. Do I still need to submit the waiver request?

Yes!

We need the official denial of your waiver request in order to provide you the additional financial aid. Please go ahead and fill out the waiver request in DukeHub.

I'm in Questbridge/KIPP or a similar program, and I thought my health insurance would be covered. Do I still need to submit the waiver request?

Yes!

All domestic students (US citizens, permanent residents, and undocumented students) who want financial aid to cover their health insurance charge must submit the waiver request. (International students receiving need-based aid automatically receive grant aid for their health insurance charge.)

Do I have to submit the waiver request every year?

If your waiver was APPROVED, then yes, you need to resubmit the request every year. You must show proof each year that you continue to have health insurance that meets the requirements of Duke Student Health.

If your waiver was DENIED and financial aid covered the cost for you, you don't need to continue to submit the waiver in future years. We assume you still need the Duke insurance, and we'll continue to pay for it for you as long as you're on financial aid.