Optimum Coverage For International Students Medical Insurance Policy

by Ray Sondeo

Universities in the USA require all foreign nationals to buy a goodly coverage for medical emergencies. Universities provide the guidelines ? what are the conditions that ought to be covered, what would the premium cost be for the coverage you seek, a list of reputed insurers and so on.

Most universities require a student to be covered for a medical maximum of $200,000 to $300,000 per injury or illness. There are several policies that suit the unique needs of medical insurance for international students.

Perchance the university has not provided guidelines, students would be wise to analyze their possible requirements and compare and contrast several insurance for international student plans, before zeroing in on one. A reputed insurance advisor would come in handy here.

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 example, you might have to part with as much as $5000-$8000 for just an overnight hospital stay, everything else extra. An actual procedure, for an appendectomy, would touch $18,000; heart surgery would cost five times as much.

These costs would cover you alone. However, if you are male, and traveling with spouse or partner, pregnancy is a huge possibility. Every pre-natal appointment is in the vicinity of $200, excluding tests and medicine. An ultra sound test can go up to $1000. Pregnancy for a spouse has to be covered even before conception; this will ensure coverage for maternity and childcare, extra premium for c-section, no coverage for post-natal complications, in most cases.

Most international students medical insurance plans make a distinction between coverage for student and for spouse. Unmarried partners are not covered for birth, but may be, post marriage. Ideally, cover for pregnancy if there is even the remotest possibility that your partner will get pregnant; once pregnant there will be no pregnancy and childbirth coverage.

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 insurance for international student 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.

About the Author:

Ray Sondeo often writes about international students insurance.