On June 1, 2024, UCSF Health will become the designated provider of primary care services for UCSF students using the UC Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). Primary care services will no longer be available at Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) after May 31. SHCS will be renamed Student Mental Health and Wellbeing, and counseling services will continue to be available by calling (415) 476-1281, option 1, or by scheduling a brief consultation with a counselor via https://myhealthrecord.ucsf.edu
To ensure that you have access to primary care after May 31 when the SHCS primary care practice closes, students with UC SHIP must register to establish care before June 1. Registration takes place over the phone. Call (415) 476.1281, option 1. A patient navigator will call you as part of this process. SHCS practice coordinators will be available to support you during this transition.
Join Dean Nicquet Blake and representatives from UCSF Health to learn more about this transition at a virtual town hall on Monday, May 6. Check your email inbox for event details.
Until May 31, students can continue to schedule primary care visits at Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS). If you have an SHCS primary care appointment scheduled on or before May 31, you will be seen at SHCS.
On June 1, the SHCS primary care clinic will close, and students will need to establish care with a new provider. For students with UC SHIP insurance, UCSF Health primary care will become your designated primary care provider: To establish care, you need to register. For students who have waived UC SHIP and have a commercial insurance plan, you may elect to use UCSF Health as your primary care provider or continue utilizing options provided by your current insurance to obtain primary care services, but you will no longer be able to access primary care services at SHCS.
Below is an FAQ section that will be updated based on the latest information available and queries received.
Last updated: April 29, 2024 (significant updates throughout)
Process
What will happen if a student does not register to establish care at UCSF Health? Will they be paired with a provider? What support system will be in place after May 31 for them to find a UCSF Health primary care provider?
What will the process entail once students contact the patient coordinators at SHCS to schedule a new patient appointment with a UCSF Health PCP?
What will the registration process be for new students starting this fall?
Appointments and Locations
How and when do I begin the UCSF Health patient registration process?
Will my UCSF Health appointment accommodate my student commitments?
Will there be additional capacity for UCSF Health to take on UCSF students?
How long will it take to get a new primary care provider at UCSF Health?
Can I pick the location of my primary care provider? Can I transfer to another location later?
Do you recommend that all students make an appointment with a provider to establish care as soon as possible?
Can students with UC SHIP access care in cities that do not have UCSF urgent care facilities? Are students still able to go to Dignity Health urgent care or other urgent care organizations?
Can I go to any UCSF facility for urgent care if I show my UC SHIP insurance card?
What will the process entail once we contact the patient coordinators at SHCS to schedule a new patient appointment with a UCSF Health PCP?
Is there any health care access/coverage available to those students on rotation in Fresno?
Providers and Specialty Care
Where will I see a provider? What clinics will I have access to? Can I still access care on campus?
What are women’s health options?
Where can I find information on transgender care?
Will psychiatry migrate to UCSF Health when the primary care practice at SHCS closes on May 31?
Will we continue to be able to get covered blood work at Quest Diagnostics?
How will students get TB screenings and immunizations that had been provided by SHCS?
Will there be a way to access sexual health and testing services as conveniently and as affordably as possible?
Health Records and Privacy
How do I avoid a conflict of interest with one of my faculty members?
How will my health record be kept confidential and private?
Will my health records be transferred?
Collaboration with SHCS mental health services
How will this affect the service I receive from student counseling?
Insurance and Fees
How will this affect my insurance costs?
Will UCSF Health primary care accept UC SHIP?
Will my co-pay change?
Will my out-of-pocket cost change?
I waived UC SHIP; can I still be seen at UCSF Health?
What is the health insurance enrollment and waiver process moving forward?
Where can I find support with questions related to the benefits of the student health insurance plan?
Does this change how student fees fund Student Health and Counseling Services?
If students want to switch to SHIP, can they, and at what time?
Will UC SHIP students also get access to the UCSF one medical memberships similar to UC employees?
If I previously saw a UCSF Health primary care physician before switching to UC SHIP in the fall, should I still start by contacting a patient navigator at SHCS to re-establish care with my former UCSF Health PCP?
Do you anticipate any changes to the counseling fees related to UC SHIP? Currently there is no copay to UC SHCS.
Will Anthem Blue Cross work with UCSF care now?
For those who have acquired a new spouse/partner, how do we add them on with this new system?
Can students who waived UC SHIP be seen at UCSF Health for free? Currently, students who waived UC SHIP can still be seen at Student Health and Counseling Services for unlimited care visits and labs for free. Will this be the same at UCSF Health?
Will students who have Medi-Cal be eligible to receive primary care at UCSF Health?
Will I be able to see an in-network primary care provider that is NOT UCSF Health?
Referrals
Will students need to schedule a primary care appointment for each referral they need to get? What will the cost for each appointment be?
Out-of-state students currently get referrals from Student Health and Counseling Services for primary care, specialty providers, etc. and are able to use the referrals to receive in-network care in our state of residence. Will this referral process be affected at all?
Do we still need referrals from the UC Health PCP to other specialty doctors in the UCSF network if we are seeing a PCP in the UC Health system?
Will gynecology now require a referral from a primary care physician? Previously these appointments were directly scheduled through SHCS.
What are our options under this new model if we want to see a provider for an acute problem, but our level of need doesn’t rise to needing urgent/emergent care? Previously, we could go to SCHS - can we make same-day or same-week appointments with UCSF Health PCPs?
Can you get acute care without establishing care with a PCP?
Transition
Why now?
Was the decision made with student consultation?
How will this transition be evaluated to ensure this is good for students?
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