Student Health Fees: FSA Eligibility

What are student health fees?

A student health fee is an expense charged by a university or school for its students who utilize the university's healthcare services. University healthcare services are provided for the ease of students who usually live away from home and require some form of medical care and healthcare services, but do not have access through their own income or through an employer.

Student health fees are not mandatory and students may elect to use the Health Insurance Marketplace through healthcare.gov.

As with all healthcare requirements, a student who does not receive a healthcare plan through their university or otherwise is subject to the same penalties. Student health fees are usually competitive with other insurance offerings, including on the Health Insurance Marketplace. Student health fees reflect the variety of plans offered by university healthcare, which may vary based on the type of coverage, added fees, deductible amounts, and so on.

Student health fees are not eligible for reimbursement with any consumer-directed healthcare account. They may generally vary based on the individual student's age, their dependents, and their study abroad status. Student health fees may also vary depending on whether the student is in undergraduate or graduate school, and if they have any campus work positions or income. Student health fees may also scale with the course load or amount of full-time credits taken. Student health fees may or may not carry over during the summertime and in between semesters, or they may be adjusted to reflect coverage across the academic calendar.