Insurance Options
WWU Student Health Insurance Plan
Western Washington University provides an optional, affordable, quality health insurance plan to actively enrolled Western students and their dependents. Learn about enrollment and plan information.
Washington State Health Insurance Authority (Apple)
Apple Care is a free or low-cost insurance plan offered by the state of Washington. To see if you qualify, go to Washington State HealthPlan Finder.
Other Individual Insurance Plans
Outlined below are links to information about medical insurance plans. This list, in no way, is an endorsement of these plans. Our list is not exhaustive. If you find a plan not included here that you think other students would be interested in, please email the URL to Student.Health@wwu.edu
Washington Healthplanfinder
A way to help you find, compare and select a quality health insurance plan that is right for you, your family and your budget.
Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA)
The SHIBA helpline is a statewide network of trained volunteers who educate, assist and advocate for consumers regarding health insurance, health care access, and prescription access, so they know their rights and can make informed decisions.
Medical Insurance Guide for Students
Being practical and prepared for medical insurance can help you get through school. This guide compiles information for students to be able to navigate coverage options, costs, and obligations in order to make an informed decision on an insurance plan.
RxHelpForWA
RxHelpforWA is a program that connects qualified, low-income people with discount prescription drugs, direct from the pharmaceutical manufacturer. They offer a single point of access to public and private patient assistance programs, including more than 150 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. Patients will be directed to the public or private programs most likely to meet their needs. RxHelpforWA helps low-income, uninsured patients.
WPDP
Washington Prescription Drug Program (WPDP) provides prescription information and assistance for the residents of Washington. Although it is not an insurance program, WPDP members can receive discount prices on medications that are very similar to what the large health insurance companies must actually pay. On average you’ll save up to 60% on generic drugs and 20% on brand name drugs. It is open to all Washington State residents who do not have prescription drug insurance coverage, or whose insurance does not cover all their prescription drug needs. There are no other eligibility requirements or fees required for membership in the WPDP.
WalMart $4 Generic Medications
FamilyWize (Free Prescription Discount Card)
Walgreen's Prescription Savings Club
Good Rx Savings Program
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company
Outlined below are links to information about dental insurance plans. This list, in no way, is an endorsement of these plans. Our list is not exhaustive. If you find a plan not included here that you think other students would be interested in, please email the URL to Student.Health@wwu.edu
Finding Dental Care
Helpful Information from the Washington State Department of Health
Washington Healthplanfinder
A way to help you find, compare and select a quality health insurance plan that is right for you, your family and your budget.
Delta Dental
Multiflex Dental
SmartSmile Dental Health Services
UnitedHealthcare
Washington Dental Insurance
Willamette Dental Group
The Student Health Center is exploring options for billing a student’s health insurance for visits with a medical provider.
For decades, the Student Health Center has relied on the quarterly Health Services fee paid by enrolled students to fund its operations. However, during this time, the Student Health Center has also seen a nearly two-fold increase in the demand and utilization of healthcare services.
The goals of this billing model are to use the revenues generated by insurance payments to cover some of the expenses of the health center, hire additional clinicians, allow for increased outreach, and create additional services to students without the financial burden of increasing the Health Services fee paid by students.
The Student Health Center is working with partners across campus to better understand how a health insurance billing model can meet the demand for healthcare services while addressing access and equity concerns. During this exploratory phase, the project team will be considering many overlapping priorities including financial workflows, IT requirements, staffing needs, HIPAA compliance, as well as legal and risk management questions. Further insights will be made by contacting Western students and other college health centers across the country that have switched to billing.
The project team anticipates this work to continue through Fall 2025. The Student Health Center is committed to transparency in this process and will provide more information as the details become available. We will share information on this page and through announcements or campus forums.
The Student Health Center will continue to provide comprehensive primary care, behavioral health, and orthopedic rehab services that are accessible to all students at Western.
Billing Project FAQ
Currently, we are in the exploratory phase of this project. As we progress to the design and implementation phases, we will better understand the project timeline. Our estimates of the earliest implementation are between Fall and Winter Quarters 2025. We intend to provide the campus community with updates as soon as they are available.
Yes. Our goal is to ensure that we can see all students, regardless of their insurance status. Included in this exploratory phase is determining how to best serve students who don't have health insurance or have out-of-network coverage.
Yes. The quarterly Health Services Fee enables the Student Health Center and the Counseling & Wellness Center to offer all students the same access to affordable healthcare on-campus, no matter what health insurance they have. It also helps support some campus-wide health and wellbeing initiatives that benefit the whole Western community. This includes providing Sexual Health and Pleasure Packages, creating Caring Communities, and supporting Outreach Programs in Stress Resilience and Mental Health Support.
This is still being determined. Our goal is to ensure that we can see all students, regardless of their insurance status. The exploratory phase of this project will focus on minimizing barriers to healthcare access, including addressing concerns regarding copays, coinsurance, and deductibles.
The Student Health Center currently collects insurance information from students so that we can order labs, obtain imaging studies, and refer to specialists. An analysis of this data suggests that 95% of Western students seen are represented by 20 major insurance companies. Our goal is to contract with these 20 insurance plans.
Yes. Certain types of visits will continue to be offered free of charge to all active students. By changing our model to include both the student health center fee and insurance billing, we believe this will also allow for more free services to be provided.
Students may have the option to stay on their family’s insurance or purchase a plan through the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. Western also offers a Student Health Insurance Plan.