Dear doctoral students,
After hearing your feedback, Rice administrators and undergraduate and graduate student leaders conducted a comprehensive review of student health insurance offerings and identified changes to our plans to better serve your needs.
Effective Aug. 1, there will be one Aetna plan for all students, developed after extensive analysis of student experiences and insurance plan designs. By having one plan with Aetna, Rice secures a better overall package for all of our students.
For eligible doctoral students who receive a subsidy, Rice will pay the full cost (100%) of the student’s premium. Dependents will continue to receive a 25% subsidy for their premiums. We would like to thank the GSA for their research, advocacy and partnership over the past two years in bringing the full subsidy for doctoral students to fruition.
In addition to providing this subsidy, the new plan will significantly reduce the maximum out-of-pocket costs and have other changes to make medical expenses more predictable for graduate students. A summary of the 2025–26 insurance premiums, subsidies and net cost to qualifying students after the subsidy can be found here.
The student insurance committee reviewed proposals from Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Wellfleet and determined that Aetna had the best price, provider network and set of services to serve Rice students.
Aetna has a comprehensive network, and with this plan, you will:
- see no change in the individual in-network deductible of $250
- pay a flat copay of $25 to see an in-network doctor and $50 for in-network urgent care. Currently, there is a copayment, coinsurance and deductible for these services.
- pay a maximum of $4,000 per plan year for an individual ($8,000/family), down from $6,500 ($13,000/family) under the current plan. After reaching $4,000/$8,000, the plan pays 100% of out-of-pocket costs.
The Aetna plan includes Teladoc telehealth services and Vital Savings discounts, vision coverage and an optional dental plan. The dental PPO is not part of the student medical insurance plan but is in addition to the standard health insurance plan. An additional premium applies and is due at the time of enrollment.
If you already have your own qualifying insurance, the new Aetna plan will maintain the same waiver process to opt out of Rice’s plan.
Please follow the link to view an FAQ about these improvements. Continue to check your Rice email for information about upcoming information sessions where representatives from HR and the student insurance committee will present the new plan and answer your questions.
Warm regards,
Amy Dittmar, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs
Seiichi Matsuda, dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies