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 of the exchange visitor to his or her home country 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. Please see the information available below. There is also some information available at SISS, but scholars must purchase their insurance directly from the insurance provider.

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

As an alternative to the above ratings, the insurance coverage must be backed by the full faith and credit of your home country government.

There are many health insurance companies in the U.S. that provide adequate health insurance for international visitors.  Below are two examples of health insurance companies that offer policies tailored to the needs and requirements for international scholars.  UC Davis does not endorse any particular policy and we encourage international scholars to research the best policy for themselves and their families.  Additional health insurance information is available at SISS or online through the following insurance brokers:

• Atlas America or call 888-247-1387
• Compass Benefits Group or call 800-767-0169
• The Harbour Group or 800-252-8160
• HTH Worldwide or 888-243-2358
• Renaissance Agencies, Inc. or call 800-537-1777.
• Saylor & Hill Co. or call Shannon Turner at 510-466-6030
• Wallach & Company, Inc. or 800-237-6615