Skip to content

UC Merced Health Center and Insurance


The H. Rajender Reddy Health Center

The student health center occupies the second floor of the Athletic and Health Center located on the corner of University Way and Bellevue Road. Health Services provides comprehensive medical, mental health and health promotion services to all registered UC Merced students. Services are designed to minimize the impact of illness, emotional distress and injury on studies and work.

Students can use the medical services just as they would their regular doctor's office. Board-certified physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses staff the facility. Students can use all services at the health center whether or not they have the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).

UC Student Health Insurance Plan

The University of California requires that all registered students have health insurance. To help students meet this requirement, UC Merced automatically enrolls all registered students in the UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP). Fees for UC SHIP coverage are automatically charged to a student’s account each school term along with your other fees. The UC SHIP provides 12-month coverage for medical, dental and vision.

If a student has a comparable family health insurance plan and do not want to be enrolled in UC SHIP, they may submit an Insurance Waiver through the UC Merced Student portal by the published deadline. The waiver must be submitted to the UC Merced Insurance Office by mid-August before the beginning of fall classes.  

For more information regarding UC SHIP or the Insurance Waiver, contact insurance@ucmerced.edu.

Undocumented students who have obtained Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and wish to waive the UC SHIP health insurance, are recommended to apply for Medi-Cal. DACA recipients are eligible to apply for Medi-Cal. Students with with Medi-Cal should contact their case worker or social worker in their home county to change their residence to Merced County before the beginning of fall semester.