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Insurance vs Campus Health Service Fee

Insurance vs Campus Health Service Fee: Which Do I Use?

The Campus Health Service Fee is a mandatory fee for all students on the Stanford campus. The fee allows students to have care at Vaden Health Center. Concurrently, all students must also have adequate health insurance for medical needs that are not provided at Vaden or are not covered under the Health Fee.
We recognize it may sometimes be confusing to decipher which resource for care should be used; services at Vaden under the Health Fee or services available through health insurance. For all students who are assessed the Health Fee, it makes the most sense for Vaden to be your first stop for primary care medical visits, counseling services, and health and wellness programs. Students who have insurance coverage through Cardinal Care will want to coordinate specialty care through Vaden to realize maximum (i.e., Tier 1) benefits at Stanford University Medical Center or Menlo Medical Clinic. Students with private insurance should seek insurance-covered care according to the terms of the plan. The chart below helps to describe the relationships of these resources:
 
The following services are available at Vaden and are covered under the Health Fee: The following services are available at Vaden but are NOT covered under the Health Fee (many are covered by insurance): Cardinal Care / private health insurance plans cover:

Primary Care medical services including:

Medical appointments during weekday hours

Urgently needed care during weekend and evening hours

24-hour telephone medical advice for urgent conditions

Confidential web-based messaging to a student’s clinician

Web-based booking of weekday appointments

Many of the following services are covered by health insurance:

Pharmacy prescriptions and other medications

Physical Therapy treatment

Travel Clinic visits and travel-related vaccinations

Allergy, Immunization, and Injection Clinic services

Immunizations/tests to meet Stanford's entrance Health Requirements

Physical Exams for employment, special programs, or other purposes

Medical specialty care (e.g., Dermatology)

Specialty care

Outpatient care

Inpatient care/hospitalization

Emergency care

Medical care while away from campus (e.g., during travel)

 

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) including:

Psychological evaluation and short-term therapy

Initual psychiatric medication evaluation

24-hour crisis services

Counseling and Psychological Services including:

Long term therapy

Psychiatric medication management

Other mental health services and substance abuse care, including:

Inpatient treatment in a hospital or residential facility

Health and Wellness programs including:

Nutrition counseling and education

Sexual health and relationship consultation and education

Peer health education programs and services

  

Some services that are covered by insurance, such as pharmacy, physical therapy, and preventive immunizations, are offered on site at Vaden Health Center for your convenience.  Others are available at Stanford University Medical Center, or through other contracted providers in the local community and nationally.