Medical Insurance for International Students And Deductibles

Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 05:03

by Ray Sondeo

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.

The insurance company would not pay your bills right away. You will be required to pay a certain amount of money towards your medical bill in order to be eligible for claiming cover from the international students insurance company against the rest of the bill. This sum of money, which you are required to pay, is known as deductible.

After you pay the deductible, the international student?s insurance company starts paying a certain percentage of the remainder of the bill. This is termed as Coinsurance. Usually, the insurance company covers 80% of the first $ 5000 of the medical expenses. 100% coverage is provided once the $5000 limit is exceeded.

The range of deductibles start from $0 and goes up to $250.Usually, the lower the premium the higher is the deductible, and vice-versa. Insurance companies evade claims relatively trivial in nature with the help of deductibles. Inclusion of deductibles also encourages people not to frivolously engage in medical treatment.

Suppose you have purchased insurance for international students with a deductible of $200. In that case, you will first have to pay $200 towards your medical bill for medical emergencies. This qualifies you for claiming the remaining bill amount from your medical insurance company.

Plans that offer international student?s insurance will usually waive the deductible if initial treatment is sought at the Student Health Center of the university that student is enrolled at. Some plans do not waive the deductible, but lower the deductible by 50% if the student seeks treatment at the University?s Student Health Center first.

Deductibles are of two kinds- one that is applied per injury or per sickness, and the other, which is applied per 12 months basis. In case of the first kind, the insurance holder has to pay the deductible amount every time he/she meets with a different illness or injury. Whereas in the second case, the medical bills would have to be paid by the insurance holder for as long as he/she doesn?t pay the entire deductible amount.

Some student?s insurance provides very low or even zero deductible. However, the cost is higher in such cases. It is advisable to read the policy benefits carefully before choosing the international student insurance deductible.

About the Author:

Ray Sondeo often writes about students insurance.

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