<p>For internationals in US colleges: what kind of health insurance do you have? Is it college health insurance, your home country insurance or do you know of any private company, which offers good health insurance?</p>
<p>I have heard about Compass Benefits group (<a href="http://www.compassbenefit.com/)%5B/url%5D">http://www.compassbenefit.com/)</a>. How are they? Does any of you have their insurance plan?</p>
<p>I was earlier thinking of going with cheap international insurance in my country, but would probably go with the college one as these cheap ones do not offer direct reimbursement.</p>
<p>That insurance plan is actually cheaper and more comprehensive (deductible and maximum coverage wise) than my college sponsored health plan.
Well, I just e-mailed them and got a prompt reply saying that you are supposed to pay smaller sums upfront and then file a claim to get your money back, but "larger" bills will be reimbursed directly.</p>
<p>Now I seriously consider enrolling in that plan if I can apply my health insurance grant to it (I am on fin aid) instead of the college sponsored insurance. Thanks for bringing that topic up :)</p>
<p>b@r!um,
Well, you see. I also found another company: <a href="http://www.hthtravelinsurance.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.hthtravelinsurance.com/</a>. Their terms also look very good. So I don't even know if those companies are worth a shot. How much is health insurance at your college? At my college it is $2000 with $300 subsidy -- so that is $1700.</p>
<p>Viel gluck!</p>
<p>Thanks :) Where did you learn German?</p>
<p>My college's health plan is about $1200 but completely covered by fin aid. However, the plan only covers 80% of medical expenses up to $50K (100% thereafter) but the Compass Plan covers 100% right from the beginning and is only $600 ($750 once I turn 19). I am really clueless why it only costs half as much because the terms of coverage are better than the college's insurance plan's (I compared the two plans side-by-side and didn't find a loophole or something). The only loophole if you want to call it like that is that they won't pay for surgeries that can be postponed until you have a chance to make a medical trip to your home country.</p>
<p>The plan that you provided a link for seems ok too but only covers 50% of prescription drugs and requires a medical at sign-up to be eligible for benefits beyond $50K.</p>
<p>And for every insurance plan you have to check carefully how many physicians and hospitals in your college's region have an agreement with the insurance company (if you consult another physician the insurance might not pay).</p>
<p>Are you both sure that these companies are genuine?</p>
<p>Yeshiva University's website says this:
[quote]
Students can research international student health insurance plans with an expectation of annual fees to be from $600 to $1200 per year depending upon age and family size. Some popular health insurance companies that specialize in international students include Compass Benefits, HTH Worldwide, and Internationalstudentinsurance.com
[/quote]
How come most college's health insurance premiums are at the upper end of this range?
I have found a few other universities that recommend Compass Benefits as well (like Golden Gate University and Oakland Community College; random google hits). That's why I tend to believe that the company is trustworthy although I am not convinced. The colleges might also receive a little donation from the company in return for the recommendations.... You notice that I am a fan of conspiracies?</p>
<p>I was studying German in high school and now study a little bit on my own. Chances are I will work in Germany at some point in my life.</p>
<p>As of insurance companies, Compass Benefits group looks a little bit suspicious, but since b@r!um found colleges which mention this company, I believe there is no need to worry about it. I learned about Compass Benefits Group at my international pre-orientation; fellow international students gave all new international freshmen brochures about the company.</p>
<p>My college's health insurance premium package is $820.. I had to choose either that, or some 'enhanced benefit' option or apply for a waiver.
I just chose my college's package.</p>
<p>Hey barium, even I could speak/write German..(provided I have google with me..:P)..
And, I would prefer university's package as well!..</p>
<p>You would prefer the university's package even though it would mean that in case I do really get sick I could not afford to finish my undergrad degree because of a 20% co-pay?</p>
<p>hey guys
if your university has a medical center that offers a wide range of services i'd say go for the insurance plan offered by the uni. often uni health centers are very picky with insurance plans and they may say welll your plan covers a basic checkup here but not x, y, z. that's my experience though.</p>
<p>Well, for me, it is better to spend 20% co-pay (it's not that much of a cost, provided you are not a VERY frequent visitor..:p), rather than go for my country's cheap insurance...reason: as Abhi08544 explained..
(Well, It the worst possible thing, may be, insurance companies in other countries do provided better services!)..</p>
<p>At my college the student health service charge is included in tuition fees so I only need an insurance plan to cover serious illnesses and injuries that cannot be treated at the health center and prescription drugs. I am not worried about occasional colds or a sprained ankle but one big incident - like a surgery. A $20K hospital bill (with $4K co-pay) would force me to return home early because I could not afford the last year of college.</p>
<p>
[quote]
if your university has a medical center that offers a wide range of services i'd say go for the insurance plan offered by the uni.
[/quote]
Dude, but don't you think that $1700 a year for a pretty crappy college health insurance plan is unreasonable? On the other hand, what college health centers do is they only give you some basic drugs, immunizations and then if you need something else they send you to hospitals. From my personal experience: I had a PPD (although there was no medical need for it) and its diameter was 1 -- 2 mm greater than it is acceptable for foreigners (see, for Americans that would have been acceptable). They wanted to send me to radiology for chest X-ray. Its price: $110.</p>
<p>Well, yeah, quite a good point...Well, I will talk about this with a well informed person here, who is at thomas cook. (I guess, they also require co-pays..dunno how much, though!) But, I can't get better services in my country to say the least. So, I would most probably prefer unis package anyways..
Another point is, I can't say about other countries, but in my country, there are loads of ''Hidden costs'' besides a formal health insurance cost..</p>