Medical Contribution Assistance Program (MCAP)
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Active employees and official retirees can use this tool to compare medical benefits, as well as plan costs.
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Stanford may lower the amount you pay to cover your family in a university-sponsored medical plan.
If you qualify, we subsidize a portion of your contributions for your health care based on your family income level and the premiums of the lowest-cost plan. If you and your dependents enroll in a plan other than the lowest-cost plan, you pay the difference between what the university will pay for the lowest-cost plan and your plan.
If you are currently receiving an MCAP award, you need to reapply each year.
Program Details
Eligibility
- You work in a benefits‐eligible position at least 75% full‐time; and
- Your job is for at least six months (four months if represented by SEIU Higher Education Workers Local 2007); and
- Your combined family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), as stated on your most recent federal income tax return, must be $100,000 or less.
How to Apply
- Apply for MCAP by logging into My Benefits. Select “Change Your Benefits” and then “Upload MCAP Document.” You’ll be asked to upload a copy of the prior year’s federal tax return. If you have not yet filed last year’s tax return, wait to apply until you’ve filed.
- If you are a new hire or experience a qualified life event that makes you eligible for MCAP, you may apply when changing your benefits in the portal.
- You must reapply every year. Each summer, we’ll send you an MCAP reminder if your base salary is $110,000 or less and you work at least 75% time in a benefits-eligible position. Income eligibility is based on your combined family AGI.
How it Works
- The amount of subsidy depends on your combined family AGI (see table below) and is based on the premiums of the lowest-cost health plan.
- If you are enrolled in a plan other than the lowest-cost plan, you pay the difference between what the university will pay for the lowest-cost plan and your plan. (MCAP does not apply to the ACA Basic High Deductible Medical plan.)
For example: If your combined family AGI is $66,000, the university will pay 100% of the cost of family coverage in the Kaiser HMO plan (in 2022, the employee contribution is $209.89 per paycheck). That means your health plan contributions will be $0 if you enroll in Kaiser, or $209.89 less than the regular employee contribution rate, per pay period, in one of the other plans.
- The subsidy begins as soon as administratively possibly once you’ve been approved, but it cannot be applied retroactively. Once approved, the subsidy will be applied toward your share of the cost to cover your spouse and/or dependents.
- You will continue to receive your MCAP subsidy while on paid leave; the subsidy may be suspended if you go on a personal leave.
When Coverage Ends
The subsidy stops if you no longer work at least 75% full‐time, or cover dependents (except in the case of temporary layoff, in which case it would continue). When your employment with Stanford ends, all contributions stop with your last Stanford paycheck, and no action is required. If you enroll in COBRA, your COBRA premiums will reflect the standard COBRA rate and not the offset amount you had been paying with the MCAP.
Income & Subsidy Levels (2024)
IF YOUR FAMILY INCOME* IS... | THE UNIVERSITY WILL PAY... |
---|---|
$76,000 and below | 100% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
$76,001 - $84,000 | 75% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
$84,001 - $92,000 | 50% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
$92,001 - $100,000 | 25% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
Above $100,000 | No subsidy |
*Adjusted Gross Income |
Income & Subsidy Levels (2025)
IF YOUR FAMILY INCOME* IS... | THE UNIVERSITY WILL PAY... |
---|---|
$100,000 and below | 100% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
$100,001 - $110,000 | 75% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
$110,001 - $120,000 | 50% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
$120,001 - $130,000 | 25% of your cost for family coverage in the low-cost plan |
Above $130,000 | No subsidy |
*Adjusted Gross Income |