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| About Health Insurance |  There is any government medical plan or health care service that covers the whole population. Instead, most people have private health insurance.
Students on J-1 exchange visitor visas are required to have insurance coverage that includes health and accident, medical evacuation, and repatriation of remains. Students on F-1 and M-1 nonimmigrant visas are not required specific health insurance. Nevertheless, most educational institutions have set their own mandatory health insurance requirements to make sure that international students do not become a "public charge" — that is, they do not depend on the U.S. government to take care of them. International students usually are required to demonstrate a certain amount of health insurance (determined by the university) before they will be allowed to enroll in classes.
If you think that a health premium is too high for your budget or if, as a healthy young person, you think that you need not health insurance, take into account the costs that could be incurred in the United States.
The costs of hospitals, doctors, and other range throughout the country, but emergency room care averages about $200 per visit. The price for hospital rooms ranges and depends on the hospital and the region of the country. Usually one overnight stay in a hospital room averages $200 to $1,000 per day. This cost does not include charges for doctors and other medical services. The cost of maternity care and delivery is between $5,000 and $8,000. Generally, national figures demonstrate that you have to pay on average as much as $8,000 for a one-week stay in a U.S. hospital. This is about half the cost of attending some U.S. colleges or universities for an entire year.
Although health insurance covering your stay in the United States can be obtained in your home country, experience has demonstrated that many of these plans do not adequately cover your health care needs during your U.S. stay. In addition, many U.S. health care providers are reluctant to bill foreign insurance companies for health care charges. They prefer to get payment directly from the client and to let him seek reimbursement from the foreign insurance company. Unless you are sure that the policy is equal to or better than the policies of U.S. health care insurance companies, and that your home-country health insurance policy can be billed in the United States, it is better to buy health insurance when you come to United States.
If the university or college you attend does not propose a health insurance plan, it is advisable that you obtain coverage of your own to protect yourself against potentially very high medical costs.
There are incalculable numbers of health insurance companies and each has a lot of plans. Speak about health insurance plans with your international student adviser, either through correspondence or when you arrive on campus.
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