student health insurance

The San Francisco Art Institute provides a student health insurance plan offered through Kaiser Permanente. All students who are enrolled in six or more units must take action to either enroll or provide information on alternate insurance coverage in order to waive the plan. If you do not take action to waive coverage, you will be automatically enrolled in the SFAI student health insurance plan.

Deadlines to waive or enroll:

Specific deadlines will be avaliable in the coming months.

Kaiser Permanente Plan

The health insurance plan provides comprehensive coverage, with an emphasis on preventative care, ease of access to your physician, and overall wellness. To enroll, waive, or view plan rates, please visit, please visit http://studentnet.kp.org/sfai.

In order to waive coverage, you will need to provide information on your current health insurance plan, including plan provider and policy number. If you do not have current insurance coverage, you will not be eligible to waive the SFAI sponsored insurance plan. Waivers submitted in the fall are valid for one academic year and will need to be renewed each fall.

If students have not waived or enrolled in the insurance by the waiver deadline, they will be automatically enrolled in the plan and their student account will be charged. Students who enroll in the fall semester will be enrolled for the entire year.

International Students

Students who are studying in the U.S. on an F-1 visa are required to enroll in the Kaiser Permanente health plan, unless they have health insurance coverage the provides for routine care while studying in the U.S. Students who are studying in the U.S. on a J-1 visa through IIE are eligible to waive the SFAI health plan.   

Scheduling an Appointment

All routine care must be completed at a Kaiser facility in order for it to be covered under the SFAI student health insurance plan. Kaiser will not reimburse care or prescriptions that are obtained from an outside provider. The only exception is emergency care in instances where you are not able to get to a Kaiser facility.

Kaiser has in-house specialists, pharmacies, labs, and general care providers, and scheduling an appointment is easy. Simply call the closest Kaiser facility, give your medical record number which is printed on the front of your Kaiser card, and they will schedule an appointment for you with the appropriate doctor. You generally must obtain a referral from a primary care physician for any specialist visits, and the staff member that schedules your appointment can help you to navigate this process.

The main San Francisco Kaiser facility can be reached at 415-833-2200.