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.
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 international student medical insurance policy you are about to buy is what you need.
Go online and get a list of the common procedures done in the state where you will be and the coverage amount for each of them. Several states publish a list of the 25 most common procedures. The list would indicate the procedures, the facilities where they might be done and also the costs accruing to the patient.
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.
If you have traveled with spouse or partner, then do insure for maternity and childcare. Pre-natal appointments are between $100-$200, and these are just the doctor?s fees. An ultra sound test is between $300 and $1000. The coverage for a c-section is different from that for a regular birth. Post natal complications may or may not be covered by insurance, depending on the international student insurance policy.
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 medical insurance for international students 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.