Medical insurance for international students is mandatory for foreign nationals studying at American universities. Universities provide guidelines about the illnesses or conditions that ought to be covered, a rough estimate of coverage amounts and premiums and maybe which insurer to approach.
Most insurers design international student insurance plans to suit the peculiar needs of students traveling outside their country. A medical maximum coverage of $200,000 or $300,000 per injury or illness is the norm; and universities expect students to cover themselves for at least as much.
In the absence of university guidelines, go over the policy with a fine-toothed comb. Hire an insurance expert and ask questions till you are sure that the medical insurance for international students policy you are about to buy is what you need.
First, procure a list of the prices of the 25 most common procedures done in the state where you plan to study. This published list is mandatory in California, and other states have been asking for the same. The price list is indicative of the costs you might accrue for a particular medical condition or procedure.
For instance, the list would show you that an overnight stay might cost you $5000 or more in a particular state, or an appendectomy would set you back $18,000 and even an over-the-counter headache pill would cost a pretty penny.
These formidable costs make insurance doubly imperative, especially if traveling with spouse or partner. Maternity and childcare insurance will cover you for $200 doctor?s visits and $1000 ultrasound scans. If a c-section is indicated, buy extra coverage. Also remember that all policies do not cover post-natal complications.
An unmarried partner is not covered at all, pre or post-partum, but may be added to the list once married. Even then, post pregnancy complications would still not be covered. Do realize that covering your spouse in addition to yourself is expensive, but necessary.
A prudent course of action is to insure yourself for about $500,000; more, if you have a partner. Do this after a careful study of the international students insurance plan. Treatment by doctors and hospitals on the network will make direct billing possible; hence you will be saved considerable financial strain. However, with out-of-network hospitals, track every single operating and non-operating expense in order to make accurate claims.
