All students are required to maintain adequate medical insurance during their enrollment at Duke University. You must complete either the enrollment or waiver process within the open enrollment period (see below). Failure to do so will result in a delay in coverage or a charge for insurance you do not need.
Duke offers a Student Medical Insurance Plan (SMIP) designed to meet the needs of students who have no insurance or who have inadequate insurance coverage in the Durham, N.C., area. Please review your coverage. While it may be acceptable for a waiver, it may not provide the kind of security and coverage provided by our student plan, which is tailored to a Duke student’s specific needs.
If you are an international student holding an F1 or J1 visa, enrollment in the SMIP is mandatory.
For current rates or instructions on how to enroll or waive, please visit the Duke Student Health website.
Direct all Duke Health Insurance questions to: insurance@studentaffairs.duke.edu.
Student Health Fee
The Student Health Fee is different than the Student Medical Insurance Fee and will be assessed separately. All enrolled full-time and part-time degree seeking students are assessed a mandatory student health fee each semester. This fee supports a number of services and activities that foster a healthy campus community. Specifically, the fee covers most services rendered within the Student Health Center during each enrolled semester.
If a student meets one of the following criteria, they may request to waive the Health Fee:
- The student is a Duke Employee or the spouse of a Duke Employee.
- The student is enrolled in an online/distance-based program AND lives more than 50 miles from Duke’s campus.
To request a waiver, please send an email to waiver-request@dm.duke.edu containing the following information:
- Duke Unique ID
- Reason for waiving the fee (i.e., online student, distance learner, Duke employee)
Please allow a few weeks turnaround time due to the high volume of emails being processed daily by Student Health Insurance Department.