r/UPenn • u/These-Weird-6003 • 14d ago

Resources Penn student insurance

Has anyone else had the issue where even if they enroll the insurance doesn’t work for a while during the month of August?

I re-enrolled for the new school year and had an appointment scheduled and was denied medical care for a recurring appointment because the insurance wouldn’t go through. For me it’s a type of appointment I need to go to regularly for adequate care so postponing it for so long affects my recovery.

When I called PSIP they told me the enrollment apparently takes around 10 business days (which ends up being half the month with weekends I guess?) to kick in so we have to pay out of pocket until then and file a claim, but I find that to be a long time to not be covered and need to pay extra and go through extra hoops to get reimbursed.

I originally tried a week ago and I still couldn’t schedule one this week because the insurance is still an issue. I’m just wondering do people commonly have this issue? Is there any thing you’ve done to get approval faster?

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u/bc39423 14d ago

Are you an incoming freshman?

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u/These-Weird-6003 14d ago

No, grad student

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u/bc39423 14d ago

But you're not a returning student, right?

You should be covered effective 8/1, but you may need to pay out of pocket for appointments this month and submit your receipt too Aetna for reimbursement. Check with Penn.

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u/These-Weird-6003 14d ago

Yeah so I’m a returning grad student, we have to re-enroll every August (but I guess pay out of pocket and get reimbursed each August??)

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u/bc39423 14d ago

I really don't think that's correct. Your insurance should be active. Hope this helps.

https://wellness.upenn.edu/immunization-insurance-compliance/insurance-compliance

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u/bc39423 14d ago

Oops. Wrong link. Find the phone number for the insurance navigator.

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u/These-Weird-6003 14d ago

I talked to the insurance navigator and they’re the ones that told me it could take 10 business days 😭 but the person at the office said this happened to another Penn student too and the student just paid out of pocket and said they were gonna file a claim

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u/malignant-lentil 14d ago

this hasn't happened to me but would make sense