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Insurance
The United States does not have a government medical plan or health care service that covers everyone. Instead, most people have private health insurance. While most students will never need emergency services, individuals can not plan as to whether they will be in an automobile accident or get a serious virus. Virginia Tech has a mandatory policy that all international students have a minimum level of health and accident insurance. This must include insurance called repatriation and evacuation that means that you could return to your family and homeland in case of a serious illness or death. This is required to ensure that non-immigrant students do not become dependent on the U.S. government to take care of them.
The university provides access to a plan called GM Southwest. Students with Graduate Assistantships will receive the benefit of having a portion of the cost of this insurance paid through their contract.
ALL STUDENTS MUST PURCHASE THE GM SOUTHWEST PLAN OR PROVE THEY HAVE AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF COVERAGE THROUGH ANOTHER COMPANY. THOSE CHOOSING TO PURCHASE THROUGH AN ALTERNATIVE INSURANCE COMPANY MUST HAVE THAT COMPANY COMPLETE A FORM WHICH CAN BE FOUND AT THE WEBSITE OF THE CRANWELL INTERNATIONAL CENTER OR THE GRADUATE SCHOOL.
The US government website Education USA explains the need this way: "If health premium seems too high for your budget or if, as a healthy young person, you think that health insurance is an unnecessary expense, consider the costs that could be incurred in the United States as outlined below. Hospitals, doctors, and other medical costs vary throughout the country, but emergency room care averages about $200 per visit. Hospital rooms vary in price depending on the hospital and the region of the country, but currently one overnight stay in a hospital room averages $200 to $1,000 per day, not including charges for doctors and other medical services. Maternity care and delivery cost between $5,000 and $8,000. Overall, national figures indicate that the average cost for a one-week stay in a U.S. hospital is often as much as $8,000. In other words, this is about half the cost of attending some U.S. colleges or universities for an entire year. Health Insurance Plans: Although health insurance covering your stay in the United States can be purchased in your home country, experience has shown 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 receive payment directly from the patient and to let the patient seek reimbursement from the foreign insurance company. Unless you are certain 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, you should probably purchase health insurance when you arrive in the United States."
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DirectorKim |
Latest page update: made by DirectorKim
, Feb 27 2008, 1:28 PM EST
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| DirectorKim | Insurance | 6 | Aug 4 2008, 8:00 AM EDT by dnett | ||
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Thread started: Feb 27 2008, 10:08 PM EST
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