Bursar Billing
Beginning with the Fall 2024 semester, students enrolled with the Virginia Tech Student Medical Insurance Plan will be billed through the Bursar’s Office.
How Will This Impact Me?
- International
- Domestic
- GAs/GTAs/GRAs
- Veterinary Medicine
- School of Medicine
- Dependents
- Visiting Scholars
All international students in J-1 visa status or F-1 visa status taking 3 credit hours or more are required by the State Department and University policy to maintain health insurance to be enrolled at Virginia Tech. Beginning in the 24-25 academic year, international students will no longer have to pay up front for insurance if choosing to enroll in the Virginia Tech plan. The cost of the insurance will be added to their student bill, one charge in the fall, and one in the spring. If eligible, the student can opt into one of the payment plans offered by the Bursar’s Office, which allows for paying the overall student bill in installments.
For international students who choose to demonstrate proof of alternative comparable coverage, the waiver process with the Student Medical Insurance office will remain unchanged. However, international students who have not met the insurance requirement, either by purchasing the Virginia Tech plan or by demonstrating proof of comparable coverage by the end of open enrollment will be automatically enrolled in the Virginia Tech plan at the end of open enrollment (8/31), and the cost of the Virginia Tech plan added to their student account. Full payment for dental insurance and cost for dependent coverage will be due at the time of enrollment directly to Aetna.
The Student Medical Insurance Office will no longer place academic holds for non-compliance with the insurance requirement. The Bursar’s Office will follow their standard collections procedures for non-payment of student charges, including the insurance cost, which can include holds.
Most domestic students do not have a university requirement to maintain health insurance. Nonetheless, we know that some students are interested in purchasing the Virginia Tech plan to manage their financial risks. With the change to Bursar billing, domestic students who do not have an assistantship will not be required to pay for the Virginia Tech plan up-front at the time of enrollment, and the cost of the plan will be added to their student bill. Payment for dental insurance and cost for dependent coverage will be due at the time of enrollment directly to Aetna.
Students can choose to pay their student bill at a pace that works for them by enrolling in a payment plan offered by the Bursar’s Office. The insurance cost will be split over both semesters for students who enroll in the fall to maximize the ability to pay over time.
GAs, GTAs, and GRAs with at least a 10 hour assistantship (a .5 assistantship) are eligible for an 88% subsidy of their student medical insurance cost (dependents and dental are not subsidized by the university). The criteria for this benefit have not changed.
Once enrolled, the student share of the insurance premiums will be charged to the student account (the university’s portion of premiums will be shown on the student’s pay stub if needed for tax purposes). The student can then choose to pay the insurance charge, along with university fees, through the Graduate Comprehensive Fee Payment Plan. While this is a change from the current payroll withholding process, since the Graduate Payment Plan debit dates line up with payroll dates, the net impact to graduate students is minimal.
All VMCVM students are required to maintain health insurance to be enrolled at Virginia Tech. Beginning in the 24-25 academic year, VMCVM students will no longer have to pay for cost of the insurance plan at the time of enrollment if choosing to enroll in the plan. The cost of insurance will be added to their student bill, one charge in the fall, and one in the spring. If eligible, the student can opt into one of the payment plans offered by the Bursar’s Office, which allows for paying the overall student bill in installments.
For VMCVM students who choose to demonstrate proof of comparable coverage, the waiver process with the Student Medical Insurance office will remain unchanged. However, if a VMCVM student has not met the insurance requirement, either by purchasing the Virginia Tech plan or by demonstrating proof of comparable coverage by the end of open enrollment, they will be automatically enrolled in the Virginia Tech plan, and the cost of Virginia Tech plan added to their student account. Payment for dental insurance and cost for dependent coverage will be due at the time of enrollment directly to Aetna.
The Bursar’s Office will follow their standard collections procedures for non-payment of student charges, including the insurance cost, which can include holds.
All VTCSOM students are required to maintain health insurance to be enrolled at Virginia Tech. Beginning in the 24-25 academic year, VTCSOM students will no longer have to pay for the cost of the insurance plan at the time of enrollment if choosing to enroll in the plan. The cost of insurance will be added to their student bill, one charge in the fall, and one in the spring. If eligible, the student can opt into one of the payment plans offered by the Bursar’s Office, which allows for paying the overall student bill in installments.
For VTCSOM students who choose to demonstrate proof of comparable coverage, the waiver process with the Student Medical Insurance office will remain unchanged. However, if a VTCSOM student has not met the insurance requirement, either by purchasing the Virginia Tech plan or by demonstrating proof of comparable coverage by the end of open enrollment, they will be automatically enrolled in the Virginia Tech plan, and the cost of the Virginia Tech plan added to their student account. Payment for dental insurance and cost for dependent coverage will be due at the time of enrollment directly to Aetna.
The Bursar’s Office will follow their standard collections procedures for non-payment of student fees, including the insurance costs, which can include holds.
All students enrolled in the plan can enroll qualified dependents. All insurance costs for enrolled dependents are due at the time of enrollment directly to the carrier, or may be paid in two installments for those who enroll in the fall. Dependent charges cannot be added to the student bill.
Visiting Scholars will still be required to pay for the Virginia Tech plan, both for themselves and for any dependents, to the carrier at the time of enrollment. Coverage dates for Visiting Scholars tend to vary significantly—contact the Student Medical Insurance Office for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Billing students through the Bursar’s Office rather than requiring payments directly to the carrier increases financial accessibility of the plan by allowing students to utilize the various payment plans offered by the University, with the cost of insurance split over two semesters. It also creates a more unified billing experience for students and is the most common model for the cost of insurance payments in higher education.
Yes. Open enrollment will now be from July 1 - August 31.
The insurance charge will be added at the time of enrollment in the Plan. If at the time of enrollment the assistantship appointment has not been processed, the full cost of the insurance will be posted to the student’s account. This will be adjusted down by the amount of the university’s subsidy when the assistantship appears in the Virginia Tech system, as audited by the Student Medical Insurance office.
The insurance charge will be added to the student's account at the time of enrollment. If, at the time of enrollment, the student's assistantship paperwork has not been processed, the full cost of the insurance will be posted to the student's account. This will be adjusted down by the amount of the university's contribution to the cost of insurance when the assistantship appears in the Virginia Tech system, as audited by the Student Medical Insurance office.
The cost (premium) of the current plan year can be found on the Student Medical insurance website; the cost of the 24-25 plan will be announced in June.
The cost of the plan is calculated based on a daily rate. For those enrolling in the plan in the fall, regardless of the specific date of enrollment, the charge will be approximately 50% of the total cost in the fall, and 50% in the spring (the daily rate for 8/1-1/31 and 2/1-7/31, respectively). For those who enroll in the Student Medical Insurance Plan in the spring, the spring charge will be approximately 58.33% of the annual premium (cost of insurance). This is because spring-only term is 7 months, from 1/1 through 7/31.
Graduate students with an assistantship will be charged 12% of the total annual cost allocated over fall and spring in the same way, if applicable. The insurance charge will be added to the student’s account at the time of enrollment. If at the time of enrollment the assistantship appointment has not been processed, the full cost of the insurance will be posted to the student’s account. This will be adjusted down by the amount of the university’s contribution to the cost of insurance when the assistantship appears in the Virginia Tech system, as audited by the Student Medical Insurance office.
Students who have a QLE (qualifying life event) and enroll in the Student Medical Insurance Plan outside of open enrollment will be charged a prorated amount of that semester’s cost based on the daily rate of the Plan. Students with an assistantship who enroll in the Plan outside of open enrollment with a QLE will have the assistantship credit calculated as 88% of the cost of the annual plan.
Information on the many ways students can pay their student bill can be found on the Hokie Wallet site. Additional questions can be directed to the Bursar’s Office at bursar@vt.edu.
Federal financial aid regulations require the student give the university permission to apply any excess Title IV federal funds (for example, Direct Loans or Pell Grants) to any non-institutional charges (like the Student Medical Insurance charge) on the student account that are within the same aid year as the federal financial aid. The student can authorize payment of miscellaneous charges to allow this.
Any mechanism a student currently uses to pay their student bill can be used to pay for the Student Medical Insurance Charge (premium) charged to the student's account.
The change to charging the student portion of the cost of the Virginia Tech plan will not change how the university collects funds from departments for the subsidized premium for graduate students. These funds will continue to be collected through a payroll process, and the university contribution reported on pay stubs and on the W-2.
If there is a line item for "Aetna Student Insurance" on a student's bill, either:
- The student opted to enroll in the Virginia Tech Student Medical Insurance plan offered by Aetna, or
- The student has an insurance requirement (J-1 or F-1 visa status, VMCVM, or VTCSOM) and did not have a successful waiver applied before open enrollment ended on August 31. As such, the student was automatically enrolled in the Virginia Tech plan.
If the student is expecting to have a charge on the student’s account for the Virginia Tech Student Medical Insurance plan offered by Aetna but does not see one, it’s likely that:
- The student hasn’t haven’t opted in. Most students must actively enroll in the Plan. Mandatory students with an insurance requirement (J-1 or F-1 visa status, VMCVM, or VTCSOM students) who do not otherwise meet the insurance requirement will be automatically enrolled.
- It may take up to 10 business days for a charge to appear on the student’s account after enrollment in the Plan.
The university's contribution to the total cost of a GA/GRA/GTA's insurance is collected from departments through the same mechanism used to collected employee benefits. As such, the university's employer contribution will be shown on your pay stub. The student's employee contribution should be $0.
The value of the university's employer contribution is reported to the student/employee and the IRS on a W-2.
Questions about the Student Medical Insurance Plan, enrollment, eligibility, insurance requirements, waivers, and more can be directed to the Student Medical Insurance Office, which can be reached at smi@vt.edu, 540-231-6226, or by booking a virtual appointment.