One of the most important topics that needs to be discussed and taken care of before your departure to the US, is your medical insurance. But don’t worry, it is something that is mandatory for international students, so it is not something that can be forgotten.
Now, obviously, all sports related injuries that happen during practice or competition, will be covered by your team or by the athletic department, so you do not have to worry about that. The same applies for the rehabilitation process after an injury. Universities have great trainers and a very knowledgeable staff who will get you back in shape after surgery or after an injury.
As mentioned above, for international students, having a medical insurance is mandatory and actually required to be able to receive a student visa. There are different ways that universities handle it though. While some colleges will have an exclusive partnership with a specific insurance provider, which means that you will need to use that company, other schools will just ask for evidence that you are covered by an insurance. When that is the case, you basically have two options. The first one is to do your own research and find a company in the US. This option tends to be a bit pricier depending on the location of your school, but it is definitely something worth exploring. The other option that you have, is to check in your home country and see if there are any insurances that will cover you worldwide. However, if you decide to go down this path, make sure to double (and even triple) check what exactly is covered by your international insurance. Because when it comes to medical bills in the United States, you certainly do not want to have any bad surprises.
That brings us to the topic of the cost of medical bills in America, and these can be very pricey. Sometimes, even a small checkup will cost you several hundreds of dollars and once you have to stay in a hospital overnight, the cost really starts going up. But don’t worry, as mentioned above, you have to have an insurance as an international student, so this is nothing for you to be concerned about. Like always, if you have any questions about this topic, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are always there to help and will guide you through this part of the process as well!