Health Care Reimbursement Fund
HGSU-UAW Health Reimbursement Fund Summary and FAQs
The contract between Harvard University and the Harvard Graduate Student Union (HGSU-UAW) establishes a fund of $493,000 for reimbursement of any copays and other out-of-pocket medical expenses that salaried student workers had to incur under the Harvard University Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).
Visit the Benefits Overview page to learn about upcoming deadlines.
All applications will open at least 6 weeks before the deadline. Student workers may submit their application for reimbursements here.
Eligibility and Coverage
To be eligible to receive a reimbursement from this Fund, a person must:
- be a student enrolled in a Harvard University degree program at the time the expense is incurred (note that a person on involuntary leave is not considered enrolled for the purposes of this fund); and
- be employed (i.e., have a current appointment covered by the HGSU contract) as a salaried Research Assistant (but not an undergraduate Research Assistant), Teaching Fellow, Instructional Fellow, Pedagogical Fellow, or Course Assistant within the 6-month window in which the expense occurred (January 1-June 30 OR July 1-December 31). If the appointment is for 6 months or less and straddles the two six months windows, the SW is only eligible for reimbursement during the 6-month window during which the appointment starts (January 1-June 30 OR July 1-December 31) (e.g., an FAS TF with an appointment from 08/11/2024-01/04/2025 would only be eligible for reimbursement for expenses incurred during the July 1-December 31 window because of the 8/11/2024 start date);
OR
have been employed as an hourly Research Assistant (but not an undergraduate Research Assistant), Teaching Fellow, or Course Assistant and worked at least 280 hours during the preceding six-month period from when the expense is incurred (i.e., worked at least 280 hours from July 1 through December 31 if the expense is incurred during the following January 1 through June 30 period, or worked at least 280 hours from January 1 through June 30 if the expense is incurred during the following July 1 through December 31 period);
OR
in the six-month period (July 1 through December 31 or January 1 through June 30) in which a student graduates and the expense is incurred, they are employed as an hourly Research Assistant (but not an undergraduate Research Assistant), Teaching Fellow, or Course Assistant and worked at least 280 hours prior to graduation.
Co-pays (for covered visits) and full visit costs (for visits beyond plan limits) for mental health and specialist (including PT/OT/speech therapy) visits are all covered and eligible for partial reimbursement. Diagnostics, inpatient hospital stays, medical devices and prescription eyewear are also eligible for partial reimbursement. Prescription drug copays and costs associated with prescribed over-the-counter and compounding pharmacy drugs are also covered.
The fund’s goal is to cover a portion of out-of-pocket health costs. The exact payout amount will be determined by the type of expenses, household income, and the overall number of applicants. The average reimbursement was $424 per application last year. There is a maximum reimbursement of $10,000 per applicant per year.
There are two application deadlines in the contract year, so you may have another opportunity to apply for reimbursement of such expenses.
Application Questions
No. For simplicity of administration, household income is self-reported.
Include any income earned by yourself as well as a spouse or committed partner. You do not need to report financial information of extended family members or roommates unless they contribute significantly to household expenses.
Just enter a ‘0’ and the application will take care of the rest.
Your MyClaims page (see application form for instructions) is sufficient for copays and out-of-pocket expenses already processed by Blue Cross Blue Shield. All other expenses require receipts that establish that the visit occurred and the amount of copay, coinsurance, fee, or other out-of-pocket expense the applicant incurred for the visit. For visits which will occur after the time of application but before the end of the SHIP plan year, documentation must establish a regular schedule of visits and an amount of copay, coinsurance, fee, or other out-of-pocket expense per visit, and must be signed by a medical provider or their office.
If you are unable to log in to our application to apply via HarvardKey, that means that you have not worked in an HGSU-UAW eligible position in the relevant time period (July 1, 2023–present) according to the records Harvard has shared with us. If you are planning to teach this semester, try accessing the fund the first week after your class meets; you should appear in our records by then. If you have worked in an HGSU-UAW eligible position and still can’t access the application, email hgsu.benefits@gmail.com with your HGSU-UAW appointment letter and we will help you get access to the application.
Fund Rules - In Plain English
Section
Health Reimbursement
Scope
Copays and out-of-pocket expenses for student worker’s healthcare
Eligibility
Appointed to an eligible position in the bargaining unit at one point in the contract year covered by application; enrolled in SHIP and no other plan with benefits within the US
Application Timeline
Salaried workers: expenses April 15 to date at the November deadline; expenses July 1 to date at the May deadline
Hourly workers who became eligible in the previous spring semester can get the previous year’s expenses covered at the November deadline
Benefit Structure
Pool
Determination of Benefit Amounts
Are there fixed costs/grants?
No
Are there variable costs?
Yes—some services have a standard rate (e.g. in-network mental health visit); some have variable costs capped within a subsection of covered expenses (e.g. medical appliances); some expenses have no subsection cap (e.g. prescription drugs)
When does household income affect reimbursement?
When eligible expenses exceed available fund amount
Maximum annual payout
$10,000
Typical documentation
BCBS MyClaims summary, additional receipts
Applications
SmarterSelect, open from 6 weeks before next deadline
January Review (Quarterly for CC); Fund Governance
Minor changes made by vote of FBC; major changes are subject to HGSU membership vote
Full Rules
For full (legalese) version of the rules, please go here. For the most granular information on expenses we cover, refer to bullet point 1 of the Section entitled “Determination of Benefit Amounts.”
