Insurance information
If at anytime you have comments, suggestions or complaints to University Health Services — about mental health services or otherwise — you can e-mail patadvoc@uhs.harvard.edu or contact UHS anonymously here. More information on your rights as a patient can be found here.
Want to find out more about mental health services on campus — or want to go off campus?
This section will discuss what services your student health plan covers, and how to find clinicians that are covered.
Students are automatically enrolled in the Harvard University Student Health Insurance Plan. The two components are the Student Health Fee and the Student Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Plan.
Mental health services at University Health Services (UHS) are completely covered by your Student Health Fee, which is mandatory for most enrolled students. There are mental health services provided through the clinics in the Holyoke Center, Business School, Law School, and Medical School campuses. Services offered include individual or group counseling, medication management (psychopharmacology), peer counseling, and urgent care. These services are free. You are eligible for these as long as they are medically necessary. Contrary to rumor, there is no “12-session limit” on UHS therapy sessions.
All students are eligible for the Harvard Student BCBS Plan, which is also known as Blue Care Elect PPO. If you are covered by this insurance, your insurance will cover 3 psychopharmacology visits and 12 counseling/other mental health visits. For in-network providers (see below) there is a $10 co-pay. For out-of-network providers, you will pay $250 for care before you will be expected to pay only 20% per visit. At that point, you may have to pay the full fee upfront, and get reimbursed for the 80% after. If you have the Student BCBS insurance, a summary of benefits can be found here. You can go past the restricted number of visits if you pay the full price of the visit.
If you have other insurance, you were eligible to waive the BCBS plan. To understand your coverage, please contact your insurance company directly.
You can find on-campus mental health providers here. All enrolled, on-campus students have free access to care here.
You can find off-campus providers on bluecrossma.com. Even if you don’t have the Harvard Student BCBS Plan, providers here will often take other kinds of insurance as well.
- Go to http://www.bluecrossma.com
- Click on “Find a Doctor” at the top of the page
- Click on “I am a member searching for a provider”
- Scroll down to “Find a Provider by Type.” Enter the address of your dorm or any campus location (e.g., 28 DeWolfe Street). Under Select a Provider Type, select Behavioral Health Professional.* Under Select a Network, select Blue Care Elect (PPO/EPO)
- Select how many miles you are willing to travel. (There are hundreds of providers in the city of Cambridge alone, so limiting it may be advisable) and your age.
- Select what you’d like your provider’s preferred specialty to be; what disorders they treat that you may have; any particular treatment methods you’d prefer; any subspecialty you’d like them to have; preferred gender; preferred language if not English; preferred hours and electronic capabilities.
- Hit Find, and go! Each provider has a profile that will show you how they match your selection criteria.
If you have any questions about your insurance, please call Member Services at 617-495-2008 or visit http://huhs.harvard.edu.
If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this information, please e-mail Susan at sputnins@fas.harvard.edu.
*I know, we fought to have Mental Health Services stay Mental Health Services and not become Behavioral Health Services, but Blue Cross Blue Shield has its own ways.