Frequently Asked Questions

For charges incurred at the Reed College Health and Counseling (HCC):

1. Log on to the Reed College Student Health Portal
2. Under Statements, select the date of service for the charges you would like to have sent to PacificSource (PS).
3. Print the statement.
4. Write your PS ID number on the statement.
5. Submit the invoice to PS one of the following ways:
   1. Email: CS@PacificSource.com
   2. Fax:  541-225-3632
   3. Mail: PacificSource Health Plans, PO Box 7068, Springfield, OR 97475-0068 - The HCC has postage paid preaddressed envelopes.

Please keep a copy of the receipt for your records. PS is unable to return any documentation they receive.

The charge will remain on your Reed Student Account until the claim is processed at which time a check will be mailed to the business office. It is your responsibility to ensure Reed is paid for these charges.

For charges incurred elsewhere:

Follow the same instructions above but with a statement from the other provider. The statement must have the following information on it and it can be hand written:

• Member name and ID number
• Date of service
• Billed charges
• CPT or billing code
• Diagnosis code
• Provider name, address, phone number and Tax ID number.
• Proof of payment

For questions or concerns, please call PS at 888-977-9299, TTY 711 (PS accepts all relay calls), or email CS@PacificSource.com.

The college has seen an increase in students not having adequate coverage and incurring significant medical bills that jeopardize the student’s ability to continue their education. The college decided to verify insurance coverage to ensure that all students who opt-out of the college's coverage have comparable health insurance in place.

If you believe your coverage is comparable, please reach out to PacificSource at 855-274-9814 or studentwaiver@pacificsource.com to see if you can send documentation that proves your insurance is comparable or request an appeal. Please note that all documentation provided must include the student's name as the insured. If submitting a copy of the health insurance card, the card must include the student's name.

Note: If the only coverage provided to your child while they are out-of-state is emergency or catastrophic care, this will not be considered comparable and you will need to explore other options.

See “My Health Insurance Waiver Was Denied - Now What?” created by the Reed Health and Counseling Center (HCC).

While you are out of the country, you will not be able to access the Health Insurance Waiver Portal. Waivers and tuition are due by the published tuition due date. Registration and late fees may be applied if not received by then.

• Your options to waive our insurance coverage are: 

  • Wait until you are in the U.S. - OR - 

  • Have it completed on your behalf. If you are interested in having someone submit the waiver on your behalf, prior to your arrival in the U.S., please email the health services, health-services@reed.edu, for more information.

You should carefully review Reed’s health insurance requirements and if you believe it is comparable, complete a health insurance waiver. If your waiver is denied even after submitting additional documentation, please email health-services. No waivers will be accepted after the first day of classes—no exceptions. Please note, the waiver portal is only available while in the U.S.A.

You will be enrolled in the college's health plan for the semester. You may submit a waiver for the upcoming semester once the waiver portal opens.

The college does not receive any money from the student health insurance. Our role is to collect the premium and then pass it through directly to the insurance provider. This process is commonly referred to as a pass-through charge.

The college’s HCC has defined the criteria for what meets comparable coverage. PacificSource is responsible for reviewing the details of your insurance plan to ensure it meets the college's criteria for comparable coverage. You may need to provide documentation to PacificSource in order for them to verify you have comparable coverage.

Students participating in study abroad programs should carefully review both Reed’s health insurance requirements and the insurance requirements of their host program or country. Some study abroad programs may require you to purchase health insurance separate from Reed’s coverage, while others include insurance as part of the program or provide none at all. Reed will continue to bill you for the College’s health insurance, but you have the option to waive this coverage. Please see the Medical Considerations and Health Insurance section in the preparing for departure for Study Abroad. 

Reed college’s student health insurance plan provides international coverage; any service covered locally is also covered internationally. This coverage is not limited to urgent or emergency care, however, medical tourism would still be excluded. If students need to access healthcare while abroad, they should collect as much documentation as they can from the health care provider. The next steps are to complete a claim form, include the aforementioned documentation, and send it to PacificSource for processing. Once processed, the claims are then reimbursed according to the student's in-network benefit. Additionally, students should reference the scholastic emergency services member guide. It includes the unique reference ID for PacificSource, as well as info on their mobile app which the college encourages students to download prior to leaving the U.S.

Students are able to cancel the waiver before the first day of classes. To cancel a waiver, students need to contact student accounts (business-office@reed.edu) in the business office to rescind the waiver and enroll in the college’s student health insurance plan.

If the college’s coverage is waived, and subsequently the student's insurance coverage is lost, students are required to enroll in comparable health insurance immediately and provide the new insurance information to the business office. Students may instead choose to enroll in the college’s student health insurance plan as this qualifies as a life qualifying event. In order for students to enroll in the college's student health insurance plan, contact student accounts (business-office@reed.edu) in the business office.

Enrollment in the student health insurance plan is voluntary for MALS students. Enrollment must be completed online with PacificSource each semester by the first day of classes.

Students do not need to enroll in the Reed-sponsored student health insurance plan to access services at the college’s Health & Counseling Center (HCC). Many services at the HCC are provided at no charge to students. 

There is no difference in benefits. Non-U.S. citizens are covered by the international student insurance plan. All other students are covered by the domestic student insurance plan. You will automatically be charged for the appropriate student health plan.