Ohio University requires all students enrolled on the Athens campus to maintain health insurance coverage, either through the university-sponsored plan or an outside provider.
Students may remain on a parent or guardian’s plan or enroll in the university’s student health insurance plan, which is renegotiated annually.
For the Fall 2025 semester, enrollment opened Aug. 12 and will close Sept. 12. Coverage runs from Aug. 20 to Feb. 19 at a cost of $1,422.
For the 2025-26 year, there are five different copays listed for students on the OU health plan. The first is an office visit at Campus Care, which is free for students on the health plan.
If a student were to make an office visit somewhere that wasn’t Campus Care, the cost is $25. It is also $25 for an office visit with a network provider. A trip to the urgent care costs $35, and a trip to the emergency department is $250, but that is waived in the event of a hospital admission.
There are four options available for annual deductibles, as well as another four for out-of-pocket maximums, all of which can be found on the Enrollment Forms and Policy Brochures website.
Students are also given the option to opt out of the OU health insurance plan and instead remain on their parents' insurance. Students who stay with their regular insurance can utilize the OhioHealth Campus Care center and access the available medical services, and OhioHealth Campus Care will bill the students’ health insurance company.
However, for students to opt out of the OU health plan, they must complete the waiver by Sept. 12. Once a student completes the waiver for the Fall 2025 term, it will carry over for the Spring and Summer 2026 terms as well.
If a student does not submit their health insurance waiver by Sept. 12, the university offers courtesy late waivers. The courtesy late waiver can only be used once, and in order to use it, a student must meet three criteria.
The first is the student must have health insurance coverage that meets the university waiver criteria.
Second, a student cannot have received a courtesy late waiver or appeal in the past.
Lastly, no claims should have been filed against the student health insurance plan. If a student meets those criteria and applies within the 30-day deadline, the OU health plan fee is waived.
College can be complicated for new students, but navigating health insurance at OU doesn’t need to be.
