Dependent Enrollment
A student may enroll a spouse/registered domestic partner and/or child/children in the Stanford Student Dependent Care Health Insurance Plan ('Dependent Care') only if she/he/they (the student) is enrolled in the student plan, Cardinal Care.
Open Enrollment Period: New Students
New students will have the option to enroll their dependents in the Stanford Student Dependent Health Insurance Plan when they first matriculate at Stanford. This is the one and only time during the entire academic career at Stanford when a student can purchase the plan for his/her/their dependent(s) unless a qualifying life event occurs.
Open enrollment guidelines, based on the first quarter of matriculation for a new student, are displayed in the following table:
| Quarter | Open Enrollment Period for Dependents | Dependent Coverage Effective Date |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn | For students whose first quarter is Autumn, the Open Enrollment period for dependents is September 1 through September 30. | The day following submission of the completed application. |
| Winter | For students whose first quarter is Winter, the Open Enrollment period for dependents is January 1 through January 31. | The day following submission of the completed application. |
| Spring | For students whose first quarter is Spring, the Open Enrollment period for dependents is April 1 through April 30. | The day following submission of the completed application. |
| Summer | For students whose first quarter is Summer, the Open Enrollment period for dependents is June 1 through June 30. | The day following submission of the completed application. |
A student's dependent(s) may choose to drop the Dependent Care plan, but will not have the option to re-enroll unless there is a qualifying life event. To enroll eligible dependents in the Dependent Plan, the student will enroll them through the Aetna website. Students will need to pay for two months' monthly premiums at the time of enrollment in the Dependent Care plan, and the payment method submitted via the website will be used to draw the monthly premium each month during the plan year.
Qualifying Life Event Enrollment
A qualifying life event may allow you to enroll your dependent in the Dependent Care plan after the open enrollment period. Examples include marriage, birth of a child, and loss of prior coverage. To enroll dependents in the Dependent Plan as a result of a qualifying life event, the student will enroll them through the Aetna website. Students will need to pay for two months' monthly premiums at the time of enrollment in the Dependent Care plan, and the payment method submitted via the website will be used to draw the monthly premium each month during the plan year.