• 06
  Oct
  2009

• Health insurance plus an emergency fund

  
  Filed Under: Health Insurance
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Many international students in the USA consider health insurance premiums to be very high and out of the affordable range. There are, however, ways to reduce the premium. Increasing the deductible and co-insurance amounts in the policy will give you a much better (read affordable) premium.

Assume you have set your deductible to $5000. That is quite a huge amount. You would only do this if you are a "usually healthy" kind of person, and the policy is meant to take care of astronomical costs only - like an auto accident or an operation or such. Make an educated estimate, see what amount seems correct, and decide if it is worth the risk.

If you decide to do this, it is considered a good practice to keep your deductible amount in an emergency fund. That is, in case a major health care expenditure has to be met, you should keep it ready and available for immediate use.

Or, you could start out with smaller deductible (meaning higher premium) and build a corpus in a separate account. Later when you have to renew the policy, and seen the cost-to-benefit ratio of this approach, you could decide to go for a higher deductible.

• 05
  Oct
  2009

• International students health insurance waiver forms

  
  Filed Under: Health Insurance
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In many universities in the USA, international students are required to have health insurance coverage before starting their classes. The universities that make health insurance mandatory generally also offer coverage through plans from companies that have tied up with them. All students are usually considered to be signed into a "base plan", unless they specifically request to be waived off.

Since the plan(s) offered by the university tie-ins might not be suitable for every one, many students decide to buy their own coverage from outside. This is, of course, permitted by the university. But, it is mandatory to inform them of your decision to opt out of their group policy. The theory seems to be: if you need coverage, don't do anything; if you don't need coverage, tell us that you are opting out.

A waiver form needs to be filled and submitted to the university. Many university websites have an option where the student can log in and select the "waive out" or "opt out" option, and provide details of the alternate policy.

Most websites that sell health insurance to international students also help the student by providing a completed waiver form. Ask for it, in case they don't give you one. It can save you hundreds of dollars, and a lot of confusion and follow-ups later.

• 02
  Oct
  2009

• Compare health insurance plans, pick the best

  
  Filed Under: Health Insurance
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Buying health insurance for international students is a prerequisite for starting classes in many universities in the USA. Many such universities have teamed with insurance companies to provide a pretty decent coverage for students at a considerably low cost.

They promise that premiums will be the lowest, but it is always advisable to check prices elsewhere before signing up for the university provided health insurance. The offered coverage might not seem sufficient to some students. To some the coverage might seem excessive. Point is, there is no "one plan" for all needs (which is why there are so many in the first place). The best way to find out is comparing various plans, and deciding what is best for you.

On the website, when you fill the form fields like your age, student status, coverage sought, etc. and submit, there will be details of plans from many insurance providers. The plans will be listed one below the other, highlighting their most salient features. Select two or more plans, compare each individual clause for them, look at pros and cons of each plan, and then make a decision.

After all, you will be spending quite a bit of money on health insurance during the course of your education. Invest some time now to find out what's best suited for your needs.

• 01
  Oct
  2009

• Plan for your student health plan

  
  Filed Under: Health Insurance
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As more and more international students move to the USA to pursue their education, it is important to understand the way health care works here. Let us try and see the various kinds of health care systems in different countries.

There are countries in the world where health care is cheap and is also paid for by the people seeking the health care themselves. There are other countries where health care is provided by the state. Then there are those, where private insurance companies are the major players in the market. Most countries have a system which is a kind of combination of two or all of these systems.

USA is one of those countries where health insurance is usually purchased from private health insurers. There are a multitude of plans available to choose from - based on age groups, demographics, employment status, etc. Health care here is extremely costly, and is best taken care through a health plan.

When planning to study in the USA, it is very important to understand that your budget planning has to include annual payments for health insurance premiums. Find out how much health insurance will cost, and factor in that amount in your study budget. Health care sans health insurance can upset the best planned budgets here. Be careful, live with peace of mind.