Medical insurance is very important for students living away from home, especially international students. The reason being your medical emergencies, which would be taken care of by your medical insurance. Therefore, you must consider the subject of international student’s insurance before leaving your country for academic purpose.
However, the insurance for international student will not start paying your bills right away. At the very outset you will have to pay a certain amount of money from your own pocket towards your expenses. Only after that will you be able to claim a percentage of the remaining amount of the bill from the international student insurance company. This amount payable by you is known as deductible.
After you pay the deductibles, your insurance company starts paying a percentage of the medical expenditure incurred abroad. This is known as Coinsurance. Typical international student’s insurance plans cover 80% of the first $5000 of your medical bill. Once the expenses exceed $5000, the insurance company gives you 100% coverage against any medical emergency thereafter.
Usually deductibles range between $0 and $2,500. The higher the amount of deductible, lower is the premium payable, and vice-versa. Cover against relatively minor emergencies is avoided by the international student’s medical insurance through the inclusion of deductible. This promotes the insured to avail medical treatments only when necessary and not otherwise.
For example if you have chosen an insurance for international students plan with a deductible of $150 then you will have to pay $150 in case of a medical emergency towards your medical bill. Only after you make this payment will you be eligible to claim the rest of the expense from the international student’s medical insurance.
International insurance for students put aside the deductibles if the primary treatment is taken at the University’s Student Health Center. In some cases, the insurance companies do not waive the deductible but reduce it by 50%, if the first treatment is sought at the University’s student health center.
Typically, deductibles are of two kinds. One is applied based on per sickness or per injury, while the other is applied on a yearly basis. In case of the first type, every time the insurance holder encounters a new kind of injury or sickness, he/she will have to pay the amount of deductible. For the other type, the policyholder will be required to pay his medical bills as long as the insurance holder does not pay the full amount of deductible.
Very low or even zero deductibles is also offered by some international student’s insurance, but at higher costs. Read all the policy details carefully before deciding the international student insurance deductible.
