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This page was created to provide international students with detailed, up-to-date information about health insurance and health care. 

For information concerning insurance coverage for visitors/tourist to the US, click here.  

J-1 students are required to complete the J-1 Insurance Compliance form.

It is Texas A&M University policy that all international students have medical health insurance. Texas A&M University defines International Students as any student who is not a permanent resident or US citizen. This regulation is explained in the following link: 26.99.01 Student Health Insurance. International Student Services is responsible for monitoring health insurance requirements for international students. 

 

Students who have families with them are strongly encouraged to obtain additional insurance coverage for them. There are several important facts and terms that you need to know about health insurance.

• Most major US health insurance companies will not sell health insurance policies to international students. There are, however, companies that sell only to internationals that you may purchase for yourself and your family.
• The US does not have socialized medicine. All costs of health care are paid by the patient.
• Even if you buy a health insurance policy, your insurance provider will likely require that you pay all the bills first and fill out a claim form to request reimbursement by the insurance company. It can take as long as two or more months to process a claim.
• All insurance policies are different in their coverage, costs, and the percentage of your medical costs that will be reimbursed. COMPARE POLICIES BEFORE YOU BUY ONE.

The following are terms that policies have in common and that you should be sure to understand before you buy a policy. If you have doubts about any aspect of a policy, call the company and clarify information before you buy it.

• Dependent coverage means insurance for your spouse and children. It is available in most policies at an extra cost.
• A premium is the amount you pay to buy the policy.
• A deductible is an amount of money that you must pay for your health services. It can be a specific amount or a percentage of the cost of the medical bill. This is a non-refundable cost.
• Basic medical benefits refer to the maximum amount of money that a policy will pay to you for whatever basic medical services are covered by the policy. A policy does not necessarily cover all medical services. Also check what percentage of the costs are covered by your policy. Many only cover 80% of the bills.
• Major medical benefits refer to supplemental programs that you can purchase for an additional cost to cover the expenses of major medical emergencies that will go beyond the maximum amount covered in the basic medical benefits.
• A repatriation benefit pays an amount to help cover the cost of returning the policy holder's body to his home country in the event of his death. Such costs can be as high as $6,000.
• In some policies, items such as coverage for prescription drugs, eye care, and dental coverage cost extra.
• A pre-existing condition clause allows the company not to pay for treatment on conditions that existed a certain number of months or years before the policy was purchased.

 

• For each semester you are registered, you are required to have health insurance coverage through graduation date. 
• Medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness
• Repatriation of remains in the amount of $7,500
• Medical evacuation to one's home country of at least $10,000
• A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness
• The health insurance company offering the policy must:
  • Have a Best or Standard and Poor's rating of at least "A-"
  • or a Weiss Research Inc. rating of at least B+
  • or an Insurance Solvency International, Ltd. rating of at least "A-I"
  • or be backed by the full faith and credit of the student's home country government

Documents submitted to ISS should be written in English or translated into English by a certified translator or professor of TAMU. All financial information must be stated in US dollars or converted to US dollars along with proof of conversion accuracy.

 

It is the student’s responsibility for notifying ISS of your health insurance compliance. We encourage you to purchase health insurance and notify ISS as early as possible.

For each semester you are registered, you are required to have health insurance coverage through graduation date. 

You may email proof of your alternative coverage to healthinsurance@tamu.edu.  Those holding an assistantship that provides health insurance coverage will also need to ensure that the department has updated health insurance information in the Employment Eligibility Certification (EEC) website.

Options to meet insurance requirements:

1. Students with insurance coverage through Graduate Assistantships or other on-campus employment that makes them eligible for employee benefits
2. Sponsored Students (those whose programs are monitored by the Sponsored Student Programs Office)
3. Choose to be auto-billed
4. All other students

Questions and/or inquiries can be emailed to: healthinsurance@tamu.edu with “Insurance Verification Questions” in the subject line. All correspondence should include the last name, first name, and UIN in the body of the message to ensure timely and accurate responses.