In the United States it is the individual's responsibility to arrange for payment of medical expenses, which can be extremely expensive. This is in contrast to health care systems of some other countries. Health insurance is a way to protect yourself from these high costs by paying a monthly premium to the insurance company and, in return, the company pays a specified amount or portion of your medical costs if you become sick or injured. Health insurance may be purchased individually and some employers provide health insurance coverage for their employees at low or no cost. At UC Davis all visiting scholars and accompanying family members are required to have health insurance.

Federal regulations require all J visa holders to carry health insurance throughout the period of participation in the Exchange Visitor Program as a condition of maintaining legal status. Minimum acceptable coverage would provide:

• medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness;
• repatriation of remains in the amount of $7,500;
• expenses associated with medical evacuation in the amount of $10,000;
• deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.

Health insurance may be available to you in the following ways:

• Your UCD employment may provide a university-sponsored health plan which will cover you and possibly your family at no or minimal cost to you. If you will receive a salary from UCD, check with your sponsoring department to find out if you are eligible for this benefit.
• Your program sponsor (for example, Fulbright) may provide health insurance as a participant in their program.
• You may purchase health insurance through your home country's consulate.
• A group health insurance plan that meets the minimum coverage requirements is available for UCD visiting scholars and their dependents to purchase at SISS.

You may also purchase health insurance through companies offering health insurance plans in the U.S. Whichever health insurance coverage you choose, the insurance corporation underwriting the policy must have one of the following ratings:

• an A.M. rating of "A" or above
• an Insurance Solvency International, Ltd. (ISI) rating of "A-i" or above
• a Standard & Poor's Claims paying ability rating of "A" or above
• a Weiss Research, Inc. rating of "B+" or above

Insurance coverage backed by the full faith and credit of your home country government meets this requirement.

RECOMMENDED HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

Those eligible for enrollment in these plans include visiting international scholars and their dependents (See plan for age limits). Please see the enrollment restrictions for each policy. Call SISS at 752-0864 to make an appointment for assistance with the enrollment process. A check, credit card or money order for payment is required at the time of enrollment.

Enrollment in these plans must take place within 30 days of arrival at UC Davis.

A.  HEALTHCARE PLUS

To qualify for this plan, a scholar cannot be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and cannot be covered under a student plan by the Cowell Student Health Center. This insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions for the first 6 months of coverage, and will not cover routine dental care or physical exams when there is no indication of illness or injury. Pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing condition.  Coverage begins as soon as the insurance company receives the enrollment form with payment.

Monthly Premiums*

Scholar Age	Monthly  Rate
Under age 30	$124.00
Age 30 to 39	$176.00
Age 40 to 49	$239.00
Age 50 to 64	$368.00
Age 65 & over	$551.00

* Rates effective until 7/31/2008. These rates go into effect for all new enrollees with effective dates of 8/1/2007 and later, but not for current enrollees until their next renewal date on or after 8/1/2007.

Note: the HealthCare Plus plan will no longer offer coverage for dependents after August 1, 2006. For scholars with dependents please see www.studentinsure.com/ucschools.

Coverage:  See the Healthcare Plus brochure for more information (Available at SISS or for more information contact Shannon Turner at Saylor & Hill, (510)273-8888 / e-mail address: info@saylorhill.com)

• If the scholar is treated at the Cowell Student Health Center, covered expenses will be reimbursed at 100%.
• Visits to Preferred Provider Offices (PPOs) will be reimbursed at 100% except the $20 office co-payment.
• Visits to non-PPO offices will be reimbursed at 75% after the $20 office co-payment.
• Costs for medical prescriptions are reimbursed at 50%.
• PPO hospitalization costs are reimbursed at 100% after scholar pays $50 hospital co-payment.
• This plan satisfies the federal regulation insurance requirements for J visa holders

B.  UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA REPATRIATION AND MEDICAL EVACUATION

This policy is specifically designed for foreign nationals visiting the United States who are required to have repatriation and medical evacuation coverage because of their visa requirements. Some policies such as HealthCare Plus include repatriation and medical evacuation benefits as part of the policy. Should a University of California foreign visitor purchase medical insurance that does not include repatriation and medical evacuation benefits, and are required to have this coverage because of their visa requirements, or just want to have this coverage to also cover their dependents, they are eligible to buy the UC Repatriation and Medical Evacuation policy as long as they are in the United States and are sponsored by a University of California campus.

This insurance is used to supplement other insurance plans that do not provide the medical evacuation and repatriation coverage required by J visa regulations. It is not a primary insurance and does not cover accidents or illnesses. If enrolling in the UC Repatriation and Medical Evacuation policy, the application is available at SISS or for more information contact Shannon Turner at Saylor & Hill, (510)273-8888 / e-mail address: info@saylorhill.com.