Benefit Information for International Employees

The Basics     

International students are required to maintain health insurance per Texas A&M University Student Health Insurance Regulation (26.99.01). The following information addresses benefits enrollment for international graduate student employees newly hired into a benefits-eligible position. 

International students are automatically charged a fee for the System Student Health Insurance Plan (SSHIP) in the amount of $1,010 for the Fall term, which will be billed on their student fee statement for the coverage period of Sep. 1 to Dec. 31. The spring fee is $2,008 for the coverage period of Jan. 1 to Aug. 31. Those who take courses over the summer and have not paid the spring fee will be charged $756 for the coverage period of June 1 to Aug. 31.

Fees may be adjusted for those students who enroll in the Graduate Student Plan or submit a waiver request to Academic Health Plans (AHP) due to alternative health insurance coverage that meets TAMU waiver guidelines. For both new and returning international Graduate Student Employees (GSEs), in order for the waiver to go through, the employee must be processed through Workday as soon as possible and the student's Visa Type information must be entered and/or updated in Workday as well as unexpired Alien Work Authorization information. For newly-benefit-eligible employees, please follow the recommended options for benefit enrollment.

Procedure to receive to a SSHIP fee waiver for new hires

The department enters the employee into Workday as quickly as possible and instructs the employee to complete the onboarding process, choosing an earlier benefit start date through the onboarding questions. The Benefit Services team will manually change the student's Benefit Event from "First of the Month Following 60 Days of Hire" to "Date of Hire" or "First of the Following Month" so the benefits will start immediately.  

Students are responsible for paying the full premium payment amount for the first two (2) to three (3) calendar months. On the first of the month following 60 days of employment the State Group Insurance Premium (SGIP) is credited to the employee's record allowing the student employee to pay the discounted appropriate rate they have enrolled in. 

The employee must complete onboarding in Workday within 5 days of their hire date if they want their coverage to begin on their date of hire. This is to ensure the student will be included in the International Student premium waiver process. ISSS will process the premium waiver automatically (the student does not have to request a waiver if enrolling in the Graduate Plan provided coverage is effective no later than Sep. 1 for the Fall, Jan. 31 for the spring, and June 1 for the summer).  

Employees enrolling in Date of Hire, employee-only coverage can expect the following: 

Employee will pay $252.00 plus Basic Life ($4.70) through payroll deduction while waiting for the employer contribution for the first two-three months of coverage. 

Example: An employee hired September 1 will be eligible for the employer contribution beginning November 1.  

Friendly reminder: If the department has not yet entered the student employee into Workday, or the student employee has not elected benefit coverage in Workday to begin by Sep. 1, to receive their premium waiver, then the employee will continue to have the Mandatory First Time On-Campus Fee of $252.00 and Fall premium of $1,010.00 included on their student fee statement. AHP will refund the student employee for months of double coverage.

Graduate Student Rates (once eligible for employer contribution)

Based on the table above, the total cost of Employee Only Medical insurance is $252 and the employee's deduction from their pay will be $0.00 after the employer contribution eligibility date.

Important Reminders  

• The Employer State Group Insurance Premium (SGIP) contribution will NOT begin until the 1st of the month following the required waiting period (60 days). This will cover a portion of the out-of-pocket cost the student employee would have to pay.
• Student employees not enrolled in coverage by the required enrollment date (Jan 31, June 1, or Sept 1) will receive a partial refund of their paid insurance premiums for any dual coverage processed by Academic Health Plans through ISSS. Refunds will be processed midway through the spring semester. Spring/summer refunds will be processed midway through the fall semester.
• Academic departments should work to ensure their employees complete onboarding within 5 days of their hire date to choose benefits on hire. The benefit services department will be working to ensure that all students who complete onboarding have their benefits processed in a timely manner as onboarding is complete. Due to the very high volume of requests, we ask that all students please be patient. 

Please email benefits@tamu.edu for assistance and include name, UIN, best contact number and employing department. If a student needs to leave a message at (979) 862-1718 instead of email, please be sure to include their Name, UIN, Department and a return contact telephone number so that we can effectively respond to the student. 

Additional Information & Resources 

• AcademicBlue (Student Health Insurance) Quick Start Guide
• Graduate Student Employee Benefits
• Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Fellow Benefit
• International Student Insurance Fee -  International students enrolled in the grad plan can receive a waiver for the international student insurance plan if their coverage starts on or before Sept. 1 in the fall and Jan. 31 in the spring. 
• International GA Insurance Waiver Process Guidelines