UT has a system for dealing with graduate student insurance that defies all logic. In this page we'll briefly examine some of the more unusual features, and discuss ways to avoid mistakes that could leave you without insurance.

As is the case at many large institutions, UT has annual enrollment for benefits. This means that you can only make changes to your insurance (such as adding dental or vision) within 31 days of the start of your job, or during the annual enrollment period which happens in July. For the most part, if you do not want to make any changes to your insurance you can ignore the annual enrollment, and they will just carry over your benefits from the previous year. However, there is an exception to this rule that occurs if you are an RA in the Spring, and then leave for the summer.

Being a TA in the Spring is great. Even if you leave UT for the summer (perhaps to get a summer internship) you will still have all of your health, dental, and vision insurance from the Spring semester. When you come back you can ignore annual enrollment and you will have the same benefits as the year before.

Being an RA in the Spring causes complications. If you leave UT for the summer, you will not have insurance and you will either need to get private insurance or use COBRA to continue your benefits. If you do not use COBRA, then there is a break in your UT insurance. When you come back in the Fall, HR considers you to be a new hire again. Once again, you have 31 days to make your enrollment choices. If you ignore this enrollment, instead of maintaining the benefits from the previous year, you will now revert to the default coverages (no dental or vision).