Cardinal Care Insurance

Students can access primary care at Vaden under the Campus Health Service Fee, and many of the services available to students at Vaden Health Center are covered at no additional cost.

• Students can also access primary care outside of Vaden for a $25 copay (if enrolled in Cardinal Care).
• If a student enrolled in Cardinal Care sees a Vaden clinician and they determine they need to see a specialist, they will refer the student to Stanford Hospital and Clinics or Menlo Medical, and a $35 specialist copay will apply.
• If a Vaden clinician or a specialist to whom a Stanford student has been referred orders lab tests, the lab test and analysis will be covered at 100% under Cardinal Care.
• For Hopkins students enrolled in Cardinal Care, you can go to any specialist in the Health Net network with a $35 copay.  You don't need a referral from Vaden, and if you experience any challenges with this please let us know.
• Other Cardinal Care medical benefits include:
  • If you need care urgently, you can go to any Urgent Care Center, and the copay is $50
  • If you need emergency care, you can go to any Emergency Room (ER), and the copay is $100
  • If you are admitted to a hospital as a result of an ER visit, the $100 copay is waived and replaced with a $100 deductible and a $500 copay for hospitalization
  • For prescriptions, the copays are $10 for generic; $35 for brand and formulary; and $50 for specialty drugs

If graduate students need financial assistance at any time with copays, deductibles, or other unanticipated medical expenses, they can request help through the Emergency Grant in Aid Program, managed by the Financial Aid Office:

• Go to the site: www.healthnet.com/cardinalcare. 
• Next choose “Select provider”
• Filter by location: you may enter Monterey (or other city) or zip code
• Additionally you need to filter by plan: enter “Stanford student EPO/PPO” (this is in the drop down menu)
• Once you enter this you will be brought to a screen with type of doctor: start with "primary care provider” There is a box below this field where you may select “Only doctors accepting new patients”. This will help screen out those who are not available. 
• If you select the Stanford student EPO/PPO at the Cardinal Care website, you should not get any physicians who require concierge fees.  Confirm when you call to schedule an appointment.

Students at Hopkins (with or without Cardinal Care) can contact CAPS for support in connecting with a therapist or psychiatrist in the area. We can provide names of local providers for students with Cardinal Care, or Referral Coordination support for students with other insurance. There is also lots of information about how to connect with mental health supports, navigate insurance, and search for providers on our Referrals website. Contact Meredith Parker, PsyD at mparker2 [at] stanford.edu (mparker2[at]stanford[dot]edu) or  (650) 723-3785. The list of providers currently accepting new clients changes bi-weekly and Dr. Parker can give you the most up to date version. 

If you need immediate mental health support for yourself or a friend, CAPS offers a 24/7 Confidential Hotline: (650) 723-3785. Any student regardless of insurance can call this hotline. You can also call that same number to set up an appointment at the CAPS office or a phone conversation for assessment/referral purposes. A Confidential Support Team for sexual assault also exists: (650) 725-9955

Similar to Johanna and her team at Vaden, the CAPS team is very invested in Hopkins students getting the care they need. They invite us to contact them with any issues or questions. 

Cardinal Care is an annual plan with coverage that begins on September 1st and continues through August 31st of the next year.  For students who graduate in 2020-2021, their Cardinal Care coverage will end at midnight on August 31st. They should plan to have other insurance coverage in place as of September 1st.