Charges for clinical care can be posted to your Longhorn's "What I Owe" page. Parents with eProxy privileges can pay online.
For information about charges and payment options, please click the link below.
The Importance of Health Insurance
- UHS is not health insurance.
- UT students are not automatically enrolled in an insurance plan.
Health insurance coverage is extremely important. Your Longhorn may need medical care when UHS is closed, require specialty services not provided at UHS, or suffer an illness or injury that requires emergency room care or hospitalization. Keep your son or daughter on your insurance if possible. Otherwise, consider Student Health Insurance, a UT System-approved plan underwritten by UnitedHealthcare. Click the link below for details.
To learn more about how UHS handles health insurance, click the following link.
AlcoholEdu: The New Buzz on Campus
Learn about AlcoholEdu, a new, innovative resource available to the entire Longhorn community. Because UT cares about students' health and safety, the University expects every incoming first-year/freshman and transfer student under the age of 21 to complete AlcoholEdu for College before arriving on campus.
What you say matters. Talk to your Longhorn about alcohol, healthy sexuality, and healthy eating.
Research tells us that the best way you as a parent can affect your student's choices regarding alcohol use, sexual behavior, and other potentially risky activities is to make your expectations clear to them. We also know that students trust health information from parents. Discuss healthy choices with your Longhorn.
Here are some tips to get started:
- Be informed.
- According to UT-Austin results for the 2008 National College Health Assessment Survey:
- 72% of UT students consumed alcohol in the past 30 days.
- 69% had at least one sexual partner in the last year.
- 19% regularly skip breakfast.
- Review UT rules, state and federal laws regarding alcohol and drug use.
- Know the simple strategies students can use to avoid harm when drinking.
- Initiate dialogue.
- Ask questions and listen.
- State your expectations about being safe, making good grades, or making choices based on values.
- Help your student think through situations that may occur. For example:
- What will you do if you're at a party where everyone is drinking? How will you get home safely? Will you take the E-Bus? How will you recognize alcohol poisoning, and what will you do?
- A lot of students have sex in college. How will you protect yourself if you choose to be sexually active? If you choose not to have sex, how will you make that clear to people you're dating?
- Students who eat breakfast are more successful academically than those who don't. How will you make sure you eat enough and eat healthy foods?
Follow up
- Check in with your Longhorn and offer support.
- If you are concerned about your Longhorn, know that help is available.
The UHS Health Promotion Resource Center offers individual consultations with students on alcohol or drug use, healthy sexuality, and nutrition. We also teach classes and workshops about how students can get and stay healthy on campus.
Online Resources:
Parents' To-Do List
Ease your Longhorn's transition by taking care of these things before they arrive on campus:
See if your Longhorn has received the immunizations recommended for incoming students. If they haven't, decide if you want them to get additional immunizations. Click the link below to learn what immunizations are recommended for incoming students.
Parents of incoming international students: make sure your son or daughter has complied with UT medical clearance requirements. Click the following link for details.
Review your insurance plan with your son or daughter. Give them copies of their medical, prescription drug, dental, and/or vision insurance cards. If your plan requires the use of a specific hospital, write it on their card. Explain any requirements for pre-approval, whether and when they must notify their insurance company following hospitalization or emergency room care, and the difference between in-network and out-of-network care.
Talk with your Longhorn about any seasonal, food, or drug allergies and their personal and family medical histories. They will need to be able to provide this information to healthcare providers.
Discuss how to manage prescription medications. Explain the difference between a prescription refill and a renewal. Stress planning ahead for refills or renewals so they don't run out of medication. Give them a list of contact information for healthcare providers who prescribe any of their medications. Consider transferring ongoing prescriptions to the UHS Pharmacy.
Stock their UT medicine cabinet. Our nurses often refer to over-the-counter medications and first-aid supplies. If they ever run out, these items are available in the UHS Pharmacy.
Supply them with hand sanitizer to carry in their backpack or purse. Encourage frequent hand washing/sanitizing to prevent colds, flu, sore throats, and stomach upsets.
Plan for special circumstances.
- Send both eyeglasses and contact lenses. Late nights, allergies, or eye infections can make wearing contacts uncomfortable or impossible. The UHS Pharmacy sells contact lenses and supplies.
- Significant chronic health conditions: Their healthcare provider at home may want to summarize their treatment plan and give your son or daughter copies of any relevant medical records. Your Longhorn can schedule an appointment with a UHS healthcare provider, bring this information with them, and ask that it be put in their medical chart at UHS.
Please do not mail medical records directly to UHS.
- Ongoing allergy shots:
- Recovery from alcohol or drug addiction:
- ADD/ADHD: Determine how your Longhorn will obtain and fill their monthly prescriptions. The UHS Pharmacy can fill ADD/ADHD prescriptions written by healthcare providers licensed in the State of Texas. Your son or daughter may be able to transfer their care to the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center with sufficient documentation. Click the link below to learn more.
Taking Care of Yourself During this Transition
Your son or daughter's transition to college is a transition for you as well. Learn what you might be facing, how to deal with it, and how you can help your child from a distance.
