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Occidental College

Insurance Information

(updated April 2025)

Primary Insurance Coverage

All enrolled students must have primary health insurance through an ACA accredited/approved health insurance plan that covers primary and specialty care services in Los Angeles County. All Oxy students have the option to purchase primary medical insurance through Occidental College. The carrier of the Oxy Student Health Insurance Plan (OSHIP) is Aetna Student Health, and this plan does cover intercollegiate sports injuries. If you plan to utilize the OSHIP, you can actively enroll in the insurance plan by visiting jcbins.com beginning on June 4, 2025. Once you actively enroll, you will be able to access and print your OSHIP (Aetna Student Health) insurance card. Please visit the Emmons Wellness Center website for more details on the exact benefits of this insurance plan, and information on the process to waive the OSHIP if you plan to use your own private health insurance.

Occidental College Athletics and the Sports Medicine Department strongly encourage all student-athletes and their parents/guardians to look closely at their current primary health insurance policy as well as the OSHIP (Aetna Student Health) when deciding which plan will provide the most comprehensive and appropriate access to care and benefits during the student's athletic career. Athletic participation can lead to athletic-related injuries that require specialty medical services and diagnostic tests administered in a timely manner. With the OSHIP (Aetna Student Health), a student-athlete will have coverage for intercollegiate athletics injuries. Coverage under the OSHIP will also help to expedite referrals to off-campus providers in the Los Angeles area such as team physicians, team therapists, and MRI centers. If you elect to waive the OSHIP, you will be subject to the plan specifics and benefits of your private health insurance. The Oxy Sports Medicine department recommends that our student-athletes enroll in the OSHIP to ensure the most streamlined and efficient operation for athletic-injury medical care; however, students and their parents/guardians should carefully consider insurance options and choose the plan that best fits their needs. Again, please refer to the Emmons Wellness Center to understand the exact benefits (e.g. deductible, copayment, and co-insurance expectations) of the OSHIP.

Student-Athletes with HMO Medical Insurance Coverage

It is important for student-athletes with HMO health insurance to talk with their insurance company about how to access primary and specialist medical care in the Los Angeles area while the student-athlete is attending Oxy. With most HMO insurances, the covered individual needs to select a medical group with whom they will receive comprehensive medical care (e.g. access to both primary and specialist medical care). Typically, people will select a medical group based on their home location. For example, someone who lives in San Francisco with an HMO plan will most likely select a medical group in the San Francisco area, so that they can choose doctors close to home in the San Francisco area. However, this can pose some challenges for college students when they move away to college in another location, because their HMO medical group may still be assigned in their home location. For example, if an Oxy student-athlete with a San Francisco medical group needs to access primary or specialist care in the Los Angeles area, their HMO may not authorize appointments in the LA area since the student-athlete is requesting care outside of the medical group. (Some HMOs will allow access to emergency and urgent care outside of the medical group.) Before coming to Oxy, student-athletes with HMO medical insurance should talk with their insurance company about how to access primary and specialist medical care in the Los Angeles area. Some potential solutions could be to (1) switch the student-athlete's medical group to a medical group in the LA area, or (2) establish a process with the student-athlete's home primary care physician to allow referrals within the LA area.

Kaiser Permanente Patients
The Oxy Sports Medicine Department has partnered with Southern California Kaiser Permanente Family Practice and Sports Medicine physicians who are available to our varsity student-athletes in the Oxy athletic training room. These physicians can perform on-campus evaluations and make referrals to off-campus specialists within the Kaiser network. To meet with our Kaiser Permanente physicians, student-athletes should work with their Oxy athletic trainer to set up an appointment. Oxy student-athletes with Kaiser coverage outside of Southern California must obtain a Southern California Kaiser medical record number to obtain Kaiser Permanente services in Los Angeles.


Secondary Insurance Coverage (Athletics Insurance)

Oxy purchases an excess coverage accident insurance policy through Bob McCloskey Insurance (BMI) for all Oxy varsity student-athletes. All varsity student-athletes who are currently active on an Oxy varsity team roster are automatically enrolled in and covered under this secondary insurance plan. In the event that a varsity student-athlete is injured during a covered intercollegiate sports event (i.e. an Oxy-sanctioned athletic event, such as a coach-led practice or official Oxy competition) and requires outside medical treatment, an injury claim form will be submitted by the Oxy athletic training staff on behalf of the student-athlete to BMI. Be advised that this accident insurance coverage:

  • requires that a covered injury be reported to the Oxy athletic training staff in a timely manner,
  • requires a claim form to be submitted to BMI,
  • is excess (secondary in most situations) to all other valid and collectable insurance plans (e.g. the student-athlete's primary insurance policy),
  • is designed to cover any remaining balances of expenses related to a covered injury/accident that is not covered by the student-athlete's primary insurance (e.g. co-pays, deductibles, coinsurance, etc.),
  • has a maximum benefit of $90,000 per covered injury, and
  • has a two-year benefit which begins on the date of a covered injury.

Ensuring Medical Providers Bill the Athletics Insurance

Oxy student-athletes are responsible for submitting the Athletics Insurance (BMI) information to the medical providers along with their primary insurance information. However, it is important to know that some medical providers will not automatically bill BMI after they have billed the student-athlete's primary insurance. This means that student-athletes may receive medical bills in the mail for off-campus medical services due to Oxy sports-related injuries. In these situations, Oxy student-athletes are responsible for contacting the medical provider in a timely manner to make sure that they have the BMI information on file, and request that they bill BMI for the remaining balance.


NCAA Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program
All NCAA student-athletes have coverage above $90,000 through the NCAA Catastrophic Insurance policy. Please visit the NCAA Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program website for complete details.


NCAA Post-Eligibility Program
The NCAA sponsors a post-eligibility insurance program that supports student-athletes beyond their playing days. For up to two years (104 weeks) after student-athletes separate from school or voluntarily withdraw from athletics, the program covers excess accident medical expenses for athletically related injuries sustained during participation in an NCAA qualifying intercollegiate sport. The program provides excess insurance coverage for properly documented covered injuries that occur on or after Aug. 1, 2024. The program is available to all student-athletes at all institutions in all divisions. Please visit the NCAA Post-Eligibility Program website for more details.

 
If you have any questions regarding insurance coverage and options, please contact Joe Gonzalez, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine, at jgonzalez28@oxy.edu.