Waiving Medical Insurance

Stanford-appointed postdocs must maintain medical coverage that meets ACA and Stanford requirements for the appointment duration, including during an approved leave of absence*. If you currently have medical coverage through a spouse's/partner's employer plan or through a private policy, you can waive Stanford medical coverage. To waive coverage, submit the following documents to the Postdoc Benefits Office:

• Proof of your other medical coverage in the form of a current benefits statement showing your name, insurance plan, and the effective date of coverage​ or a "Data As Of" date matching your appointment start date
  • Accidental sickness and injury travel policies are not accepted
  • To consider your foreign insurance policy, please provide the full policy for review. The policy must be in English
• Copy of your medical ID card

Please email all documents to Postdoc Benefits. Other insurance must meet ACA and other Stanford requirements.

Please Note:

• Waiving medical insurance does not excuse you from attending the required Postdoc Benefits Orientation.Make sure you are registered for a session. If you do not attend, your option to waive medical coverage will be revoked, and you will be enrolled in Postdoc Only coverage.
• Unless you are covered by GME Benefits, you still need to log in to Benelogic and actively waive the insurance plans you can:
  • Medical: If you provided proof of another comprehensive plan and your benefit classification is changed to one that will allow you to waive medical insurance
  • Dental: Not compulsory - you can waive this benefit during your new hire benefit enrollment period and Open Enrollment. If you waive dental insurance during your new hire enrollment period, you will not be able to enroll in the benefit unless you've lost this coverage due to a qualifying life event or during Open Enrollment.
  •  Vision: Not compulsory - you can waive this benefit during your new hire benefit enrollment period and Open Enrollment. If you waive vision insurance during your new hire enrollment period, you will not be able to enroll in the benefit unless you've lost this coverage due to a qualifying life event or during Open Enrollment.
  • Extended Travel Assistance Program - primarily for those postdocs in the United States on a J visa and their J2 visa dependents to meet the Department of State requirements of having coverage for emergency medical evacuation and repatriation of remains. If you are on any other kind of visa or a US citizen AND you do not intend to be away from your home for more than 6 consecutive months, you do not need this coverage.

You cannot waive short- and long-term disability, life/AD&D insurance, basic travel insurance, and the Postdoc Assistance Program (PAP).

Changing Your Elections

If you initially waived coverage because you had other qualifying health coverage, you may be eligible to change your elections mid-year due to a qualifying life event.

Learn more about qualifying life events and making changes to your coverage

^{*Under some circumstances, you can waive medical insurance during a leave of absence. Learn more about your options to waive health coverage during a leave of absence.}