Is it good to buy health insurance for time period between the date of entry into US and the date on which university insurance coverage starts?

Question

I will be soon joining a PhD program in US on an F-1 student visa. I will be entering US about 20 days before the university academic session starts. The university will be providing health insurance to me, and coverage will start with the academic session itself. So I will not be covered by university insurance for my first 20 days in US. I would like to know if it is a good idea to buy a short term health insurance policy for these first 20 days in US ? Is it very risky to not buy this short-term insurance ? FYI, I do not have any chronic diseases or other things.

Since US healthcare system is very different from everywhere I have been to (some European and Asian countries), I am in utter confusion regarding this whole health insurance stuff. Any answers would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Travel insurance is generally pretty cheap, especially if you exclude high risk activities like skiing and parasailing. My UK bank provides travel insurance for free and some credit cards provide travel insurance for free if you book your flights with them. If you were taking a three week vacation to the US, you should be able get insured for well under $100.

The issue is that you are not taking a vacation. You are entering the US on a F-1 student visa and possibly do not have a return ticket. While many travel insurance providers will happily sell you insurance and tell you you are covered, they will also direct you to pages and pages of terms and conditions. The key to insurance is making sure you meet all the terms and conditions, otherwise they will not pay out when you need them.

Assuming you can find reasonably priced insurance, the question becomes do you need it. Travel insurance generally only reimburses you for expenses and does not pay the bill up front. This means the benefits are often limited by how much you can afford to pay up front. There also things you can do to reduce the need to see a doctor (e.g., getting a round of general antibiotics from your doctor before you leave). Overall the answer is highly personal and depends on how you would pay a huge medical bill.

Answer 2

I would say yes. You can likely get fairly cheap insurance from your (or your parents') home insurance, or the credit card company that you bought your ticket from. Although, like StrongBad pointed out in his answer, you need to make sure they are willing to cover you even though you don't have a return ticket. A fellow grad stdent tripped and broke her arm before term started and ended up with an emergency room bill of roughly $5000. That's considerably more of a financial burden on you or your parents than $100-200 worth of insurance. And you could end up with similar bills for a bout of food poisoning, or the flu, or a car accident, or any number of accidents. The insurance is even more important if you (like most of us) don't have a lot of money lying around. The cost of insurance is a slight inconvenience, but the cost of an actual medical emergency in the US is a disaster in that case.

Answer 3

You are asking if it is risky not to buy the insurance. In absolute numbers, it is not risky. There is only a small probability that you need it. Also, doctors will offer also their services for a fee in case you need it.

However, there are two things to consider. First of all, if you need medical attention, it is very expensive. For example, if you get a cold and need a prescription for medication, expect to pay more than 300 US-Dollars. Treatment is a bit cheaper if your insurance has a contract with the doctor, but if you don't health insurance, then you can't take advantage of such contracts.

Also, there is always a low risk that some kind of emergency situtation can arise (traffic accidents come into my mind), and the insurance would give you support here. Such cases can easily cost a five-digit amount of money. And this is where an insurance would help you: by allowing you to make a relatively small payment that does not burst your budget, it allows you to have the (relative) certainty that your budget will be fine even in extreme cases.