Health insurance for domestic students

Basic health insurance

If you’re a domestic student, during your studies at UBC, you must have basic health insurance, such as the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) or health coverage under another provincial or territorial basic health plan. British Columbian residents are not charged for BC MSP.

The basic health insurance covers doctor visits, hospital visits, and medical tests. Your health coverage runs for as long as you remain enrolled and eligible for MSP or your home province or territory health plan.

How to enrol

Before enrolling, make sure you meet the eligibility requirements for the plan.

Some things to consider before you enrol:

  • You can enrol with BC MSP directly.
  • You may already be covered under one or both of your parents’ plans.
  • You do not need to switch to MSP if you are covered under another Canadian provincial or territorial health plan, as long as you remain a student.

Extended health insurance

AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan

All UBC students are automatically enrolled in the AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan each year. You may also enrol in a similar extended health insurance from another source. If you are covered under another equivalent extended health insurance from another source, you can opt out of the AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan during the opt-out period.

The AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan covers the following at an annual rate:

Coverage period

  • If you enrol in Term 1, you receive 12 months of coverage from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023.
  • New students beginning in January 2023 pay a prorated fee of $176.42 for coverage from January 1 to August 31, 2022.

Check your "Financial Summary" in the Student Service Centre (SSC) to make sure you’ve been charged for the fees and will be enrolled.

If you think you should be covered but you are missing the fee, contact the Care Centre.

BC PharmaCare

If you’re a resident of British Columbia, the BC PharmaCare program helps pay for the cost of certain prescription drugs, pharmacy services, and medical supplies. 

In most cases, your AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan will cover up to 80% of eligible prescriptions. You may also choose to apply for BC Pharmacare to cover more expensive prescriptions for chronic health conditions that are not covered by the AMS/GSS Health and Dental Plan. It is recommended for most students to apply for the “Fair PharmaCare Plan”.