Moving to HBS and the Greater Boston Area

Health Insurance

The complete description of benefits, costs and other helpful information is available at the HUHS website. All information provided below is intended as a courtesy only, and is not a guarantee of benefits.

There are two common ways of obtaining health insurance while you're at HBS:

1. You can find a job that provides medical benefits to you. In this case, you will be completely separate from your student's insurance at HBS. (Your employer may or may not give you the option to have your student on the plan.)In this situation, regardless of what you choose to do, your student will be required to pay the HUHS service fee, even if they are covered in full through your employer’s plan.

2. You can enroll in the Harvard University Health Services (HUHS)/ Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS) plan. Although these two components work together to form a complete insurance plan, they are charged separately, and you, as a partner (and additional dependants) can opt to have only the HUHS coverage. Keep in mind, however, that you are limited to purchasing only the identical coverage that your student purchases (for instance, if you want insurance through HBS, and student purchases both HUHS & BCBS, you are also required to purchase both components).

Common terms used in this section:

HUHS	Harvard University Health Services. This is the main student insurance at HBS. It covers things like vaccinations, if you get a cold, or need a consultation; generally the equivalent of a family practitioner. It also covers OB/GYN care and pediatrics. All students are required to pay this fee.
BCBS	Blue Cross/Blue Shield. This is the major medical component to the student health insurance plan. This is what will cover you if you need a trip to the emergency room or need to see a specialist. This component is optional to the student, however the student will have to provide proof of other insurance coverage (ie: through your employer, or elsewhere) in order to opt out.
OB/GYN	Obstetrics & Gynecology. Obstetrics is care for pregnant women, and gynecology is women's reproductive health.
PCP	Primary Care Physician
NP	Nurse Practitioner
ER	Emergency Room: severe injury/emergency, life-threatening
Urgent Care Center	Most injury care treated here, walk-in or call ahead.
Holyoke Center	Harvard University's health care center, located in Harvard Square
Co-Pay	Co-Payment; Money owed at the time of medical service

HUHS/BCBS Heath Plan

There are two components to the HUHS/BCBS plans, and they both work together to form a complete health care plan.
1. The first piece is the HUHS component. This plan covers all basic care. It might be equivalent to your general practitioner back home. HUHS has two clinics used by HBS students, partners and their families. HUHS has a small clinic on the HBS campus, and a larger one across the river on the Harvard campus (Holyoke center). All pediatric care is at the Holyoke Center. There are no office visit limits and all visits are free from co-pays.

HUHS covers your primary care. When you register, you will select one doctor who will be your primary care physician. He or she will treat you for colds, aches & pains, preventative care, diagnostic testing, mental health care, etc. Holyoke Center also has an Urgent Care Clinic. HUHS will cover the cost for accidents & injuries, physical therapy, asthma & allergy care, as well as obstetrics and gynecology. The HUHS fee also covers prescriptions, although they must be filled at a local CVS pharmacy, or the pharmacy at the Holyoke center.

2. The second piece is the Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS) in-network component. It is a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan. (This component is mandatory for your student unless he or she can provide proof of coverage under another insurance plan, such as with your new employer or with a previous employer). BCBS will cover any hospitalizations you may need, ambulance fees, maternity services, and emergency room visits. Co-pays may apply, and in-network hospitals & physicians must be used. (If you choose to see an out-of-network provider, you will have a deductible, as well as the possibility of lower coverage. Please see the website for more details on this.)

General Plan Information
Health insurance coverage begins on August 1st, and continues for 12 months through July 31st. It renews again on the following August 1st. It is imperative that your student physically go to the Holyoke Center and add you to the insurance plan in August if you choose to participate. You will not be automatically added to your student’s plan. If your student does not add you in August, you will have to wait until the next open-enrollment period, in November. You will need copies of legal documents such as marriage certificates and birth certificates for children.

There is no dental insurance provided for through the HUHS/BCBS plan. Dental insurance is available to purchase separately, or you can receive dental treatment and pay for services out-of-pocket. There are limitations and co-pays for all services under the dental plan.

Prescription drugs are covered separately from the health plan through PharmaCare (the cost of this coverage is included in your HUHS health fee). Prescriptions must be filled at a local CVS pharmacy or in the Holyoke Center pharmacy. There is a maximum term benefit on prescriptions of $3750 per academic year, and it is allocated per semester. This means that you only get $1,875 of prescription drug benefit per semester.

The complete description of benefits, costs and other helpful information is available at the HUHS website.
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Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN)
Hospitals in Boston are among the best in the country for delivering babies, and the physicians who staff the HUHS OB/GYN clinic are top doctors who teach at Harvard and have private practices at the hospitals. Just as a side note, Harvard does have fantastic coverage for maternity care. Just please be aware that for some reason Gynecology exams and routine pap smears are covered in full at HUHS but are not covered in or out of the network. Maternity care is covered in full at HUHS and also covered in full in-network. There is a 20% co-insurance for out-of-network maternity care

There are two ways most female partners get their OB/GYN care while in Boston: at the HUHS OB/GYN clinic, or from an outside provider.

1. HUHS has an OB/GYN clinic at the Holyoke center. In this practice, there are five or six rotating physicians who will see you throughout the course of your pregnancy. You will be encouraged to choose one primary physician, however you may see all the doctors in the practice. Any of these physicians could be the one who delivers your baby. This care is covered by the HUHS health fee.

2. Some women choose to see an OB outside of the Holyoke Clinic. This is perfectly acceptable so long as they accept BCBS insurance and have delivery rights at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

The delivery of your new baby will be at Brigham and Women's Hospital. This hospital was recently rated #3 in the country for maternity care by "US News & World Report". Maternity care is covered by the BCBS portion of the health plan.

Questions
When will I get my Insurance Cards?
After signing up at the Holyoke Center, your health care ID card and your prescription card will be mailed to you in September. If you need to fill a prescription prior, call and they will give you the information you need in order to fill the prescription.

Do I need to pay for parking when going to an appointment?
You can park for free in the Spangler lot when you are going for a doctors appt. You can also park for free when you go to the doctor at Holyoke – but you CANNOT park for free when you got the Dental Clinic in Holyoke!
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Former Partner Experiences
Insurance
"The worry we had was whether our insurance would cover the birth of our child. I had heard that giving birth in the States was really expensive ($15,000 or more). Thankfully Blue Shield/ Blue Cross, which is the standard Harvard insurance, covers all aspects of antenatal care and the birth, even though in my case it was a "pre-existing condition". It also covers an unlimited number of pediatrician visits once the child is born. Be aware that other medical insurance policies will only allow a certain number of visits per year per child. I heard of one family paying $400 for their seventh visit to the doctor when their daughter had an ear infection, so it definitely pays to check out the small print of the insurance policy."

ER Visit
"My son took a nasty fall and I called for the paramedics. They checked him out in our apartment, and although they thought he was ok, they suggested visiting a doctor in the ER. They gave us a choice of hospitals, and not knowing which were on my insurance, I told the paramedics that they should take us to the closest ER with a good pediatric record. We went to St. Elizabeth's where Jack was thoroughly checked over. After the experience, I admit I was worried about the bills that would come in. Without the BC/BS coverage, we would have had to pay for the ambulance out-of-pocket; instead, it was completely covered because the incident was deemed an emergency. As far as the hospital goes, I later realized that it didn't matter which hospital we visited because, with an emergency, the only cost incurred is a $50 ER co-pay."



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