The F1 Visa is the most popular visa forinternational students who came to study in US.
There are no specific insurance requirements
for F visa holders set forth by the US government, and in most cases your
college or university will determine what level of coverage you need, or you
will need to make this determination for yourself if no specific insurance
requirements were set by institution you plan to study.
Since the health insurance requirements for
F1 visa holders will vary depending on your university or college, coverage can be
administered in a variety of ways:
- Mandatory school-sponsored
group insurance plan, with no option to waive
coverage
- School-sponsored insurance plan, with
the option to waive
- No school-sponsored insurance
plan, with the option to choose your own coverage
Mandatory Insurance Plan
If your school has chosen to implement a
mandatory insurance plan, you have no option but to purchase coverage
predetermined by your college or university, and in many cases the cost of the
insurance is automatically added to your tuition bill. Mandatory
school-sponsored insurance options like this tend to be more expensive than purchasing
an individual plan, but they are known to provide more comprehensive coverage
as well, including coverage for maternity, pre-existing conditions without a
waiting period, mental health, wellness and preventative care.
If your school handles their insurance
coverage in this way, there are a few things you should be aware of to make
sure you have the full coverage you need. Firstly, check to make sure the plan
will cover you while on school breaks. If not, then a Travel Medical plan may work well in
that situation. Secondly, some mandatory school-sponsored insurance plans do
not provide coverage for emergency evacuation, repatriation and some travel
related benefits you might need. If this is case, you might want to consider
purchasing a standalone evacuation and repatriation plan to
cover those costs.
Mandatory Insurance Plan, with
Waiver
Some schools will offer a mandatory insurance
plan, but allow students the option to waive coverage if they can prove they’ve
purchased a comparable international student health insurance plan. To help
determine if an outside plan is adequate, schools create a “waiver form.” This
document is usually 1-2 pages long, listing each of the benefit requirements
that your own plan needs to either meet or exceed, and requires both your
signature and that of the insurance company. Only once both you and the
insurance company have competed the appropriate sections of the form and given
it back to your school will you be removed from the school’s plan.
No Mandatory Insurance Plan
When your school has not provided a specific
insurance plan you need to purchase, or have no health insurance requirements,
you have the ultimate flexibility to choose the insurance plan that best fits
your needs and budget! It’s important to make sure that the insurance plan you
choose provides comprehensive coverage by reviewing the exclusions, ensuring that the plan is
underwritten and administered through a reputable company, and speaking to a
licensed insurance broker to help address any questions you may have.
Common School Insurance
Requirements
Even though each school will create its own
“waiver form” to determine if an outside health insurance plan will be
considered adequate to waive school-sponsored coverage, the majority of
colleges and universities require the same basic benefits:
- Adequate Policy Maximum –
Since this is essentially the limit that your insurance policy will pay
towards your medical bills, colleges and universities often require their
international students to purchase a plan with a policy maximum of at
least $50,000. With this in mind, some schools will require an unlimited
policy maximum, meaning there will be no set cap on your coverage.
- Relatively Low Deductible –
To help keep students out of pocket costs as
low as possible, schools often include a deductible limit per condition,
or per policy period, as part of their waiver requirements.
- Mental Health Coverage –
To help ensure students are both physically and mentally healthy, outside
health insurance plans are generally required provide both in-patient and
out-patient mental health care, either at a set dollar amount or a
percentage per visit.
- Maternity Coverage –
As a preventative measure, adequate maternity coverage is another popular
health insurance waiver requirement for international students. Schools don’t
generally require maternity to be covered at a specific dollar amount, and
instead request a high percentage to be covered, typically at least 80%
coverage in-network for pre-natal, delivery and post-natal care.
- Pre-existing Condition Coverage –
Oftentimes schools will require your health insurance plan to include
coverage for conditions that you may have had prior to arriving in the
United States, either with or without a waiting period.
- Emergency Medical Evacuation
Coverage – Evacuation coverage is required by federal law
for J visa holders, making it a common benefit for schools to include in
their “waiver forms.” In a nutshell, evacuation coverage will help
transport you to the nearest medical facility that can provide appropriate
care – either by ground or air transportation depending on your insurance
plan.
- Repatriation of Remains Coverage -
Also known as the Return of Mortal Remains, repatriation coverage provides
financial assistance to your family in the event you were to pass away
while outside of your home country. To help make this process as easy as
possible, schools often require your insurance plan to include
repatriation coverage to help provide the proper planning, logistics, and
financial coverage for your family if such a tragedy were to occur.
After you know whether your college or
university set up the requirements for health insurance plan for F1 visa
holders, get the information on what is offered, what are the benefits, can the
dependents be covered under your policy and what are the costs. If you do have
the option to waive your school’s option, feel free to contact us to help
you find the best product for international students, compare and advise which
is best for your situation.
Expat Solutions is a trading style of In2Matrix Global Insurance Solutions
