F1 Health Insurance and COVID-19

By now, you most probably would have heard about the coronavirus. You probably also heard the word “pandemic” being associated with it and heard drastic news about coronavirus travel bans and other severe measures being taken.

As an international student in the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic puts additional stress on you. You’re in a foreign country, probably far away from your family, and you have to operate in a medical system that is unknown to you. How does the coronavirus affect F-1 visa holders? Will your international student health insurance cover the testing and treatment that goes with COVID-19? Are the costs only covered partially, or is it covered fully? How much will you need to pay out of your own pocket? 

We’ll take a look at these questions below and hopefully help ease your worried mind during this time. 

What is COVID-19?

If you aren’t clued up about COVID-19, it is important to first understand what it is and how it works. 

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), commonly known as the coronavirus, is a highly contagious respiratory illness. COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, after investigations into an outbreak in the area. The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads from person to person mainly through respiratory droplets produced when a person coughs or sneezes. It is also possible to get COVID-19 by touching objects or surfaces that have the virus on it and then touching your own mouth, nose, and possibly even eyes. 

Since the illness is so highly contagious, it is critical to identify symptoms early so you can self-isolate and get tested early. 

Symptoms of COVID-19

The signs and symptoms of COVID-19 are non-specific. This means people who contract COVID-19 can display a range of different symptoms (or a combination of symptoms) and can even show no symptoms at all. 

The signs and symptoms of the disease range from severe respiratory illness (for example, pneumonia) to mild symptoms (typically symptoms associated with the common cold) to being asymptomatic (showing no apparent signs or symptoms).

Typical signs and symptoms of COVID-19 are: 

• Dry cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Coughing up slime 
• Body chills
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Muscle or joint ache or pain

According to the World Health Organization Report, in more than 80% of all reported cases, fever is the most common symptom. In about 68% of cases, the fever is followed by a dry cough. Fatigue (in 38% of the cases), producing sputum (in 33% of the cases), and shortness of breath (in about 19% of cases) also follows. 

Other, less common, symptoms include:

• Diarrhea
• Nasal congestion
• Nausea or vomiting
• Coughing up of blood or blood-stained mucus
• Intensely red eyes, watery discharge from the eyes, swollen eyelids, and light sensitivity.

It is important to remember that you can have COVID-19 without showing any symptoms. Signs and symptoms can start to show in as little as 2 days, or it can take as long as 14 days to show. On average, it takes about 5 to 6 days for symptoms to start developing after exposure to the COVID-19 virus. 

Does International Student Health Insurance Cover COVID-19 Testing?

The good news is yes, it will. If you have international student health insurance, your health insurance plan will cover COVID-19 testing. 

On 18 March 2020, President Trump signed a coronavirus relief plan, which, among other things, requires health insurance providers to pay for coronavirus testing. Not only do they have to cover the cost of testing, but they also have to pay for your visit to the doctor. If your doctor recommends for you to be tested, your international student health insurance must also pay for your trip to the emergency room to take the test. 

So, if you go to the doctor and the doctor requests you to take the COVID-19 test, you won’t have to pay, regardless of what plan you are on or what your deductible is. 

The reason the coronavirus tests are required to be free is the hefty fees usually associated with medical care in the U.S. When people are faced with substantial costs, they hesitate to go to the doctor and seek help. With COVID-19 being declared as a pandemic, hesitation to be tested can’t be risked. If someone hesitates to get tested and just continues with their normal day to day life, it could spread the disease further.

There are also other benefits required by the new law, such as sick leave, unemployment benefits, and food and medical aid to people affected by COVID-19. You can read more about these benefits here.

Does International Student Health Insurance Cover COVID-19 Treatment?

The next important question is whether your international student health insurance plan will cover treatment if you contract COVID-19. In short, COVID-19 treatment will be paid just as any other treatment under your health plan would. 

How Much Treatment Will International Student Health Insurance Cover? 

The extent to which your student health insurance will cover COVID-19 treatment and the amount you will need to pay out of pocket will depend on your health insurance policy.

Generally, F1 students have three options for health insurance:

1. A mandatory group health insurance plan provided by your school.
2. A mandatory group health insurance plan but where you have the option to waive. In this case, you can opt-out of the plan your school chose as long as you choose another plan which your school deems as adequate.
3. Your own optional health insurance plan. Here you can choose any health insurance plan you want.

With each option, you need to check your policy and read the details carefully to see how much of the treatment your plan will cover. Your total coverage will also depend on whether you have fixed coverage or comprehensive coverage. With fixed coverage, there is only a fixed amount your health insurance plan will pay for a specific procedure irrespective of what the total cost of the procedure is. With comprehensive coverage, your health insurance plan pays a certain percentage of the total cost of your procedure or treatment. This is also limited to a certain maximum amount, though. 

When checking the policy, you should also be on the lookout for the following:

• Your policy maximum – this is the maximum amount your health insurance plan will cover.
• Your deductible – the deductible is the amount of money you need to pay out of your own pocket towards the treatment before your health insurance will start to cover you and pay for the rest. 
• Whether there is a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Network – if there is a PPO in place, you need to make sure you understand what it entails. Your health insurance could possibly only pay if you use a provider in their PPO network. In this case, you need to make sure you know which providers are listed. Alternatively, you might just be able to pay less if you use a provider in the PPO network. 

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic can be scary and stressful. More so if you are an international student and don’t understand how you are covered and how you can protect yourself from COVID-19 during this time. Plus as a foreign national you also need to think about how COVID-19 impacts your visa.

To help ease the load, make sure you know how your international student health insurance plan works and what exactly it will cover. It will be one less thing you need to worry about with COVID-19.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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