J1 Travel to the USA
The J1 Visa is probably one of the most well known visa types for students to come to the USA to work and study. Introduced in 1961, it has grown in popularity to become one of the primary ways students can participant in Work and Travel programs, Au Pair programs, Internships and all the other J1 Visa Categories. For more detailed information about the J1 visa, please visit our very comprehensive section explaining all the main details about this visa type.
Of course there are many different requirements that need to be met in order to qualify for the J1 Visa, but one of the requirements of the visa is that the participant holds an insurance policy that will cover their medical expenses during their time in the USA. Set in 1993, the requirements were as follows:
- Medical Benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness
- Repatriation of Remains in the amount of $7,500
- Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000
- A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness
- A policy underwritten by an insurance carrier with:
- an AM Best rating of “A-” or above
- an Insurance Solvency International, Ltd (ISI) rating of “A-I” or above
- a Standard and Poor’s Claims Paying Ability rating of “A-” or above
- or a Weiss Research, Inc. rating of “B+” or above
While to many around the world, the levels of coverage may seem adequate for a temporary visitor, the USA medical system is the most expensive in the world. $50,000 does not actually go very far if you are hospitalized, and so there have been calls to increase these limits to protect students.
On the 6th October 2014, the US Department of State issued a final rule that would make a number of changes to the way the J1 Visa program is run, and as part of that the levels of insurance coverage were changed to:
- Medical benefits of at least $100,000 per accident or illness
- Repatriation of remains in the amount of $25,000
- Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of exchange visitors to his or her home country in the amount of $50,000
- Deductibles not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.
- A policy underwritten by an insurance carrier with:
- an A.M. Best rating of ‘‘A-’’ or above;
- a McGraw Hill Financial/Standard & Poor’s Claims paying Ability rating of ‘‘A-’’ or above;
- a Weiss Research, Inc. rating of ‘‘B+’’ or above;
- a Fitch Ratings, Inc. rating of ‘‘A-’’ or above;
- a Moody’s Investor Services rating of ‘‘A3’’ or above;
The main changes are to the levels of coverage, up to $100,000 for medical benefits, up to $25,000 for repatriation of remains, up to $50,000 for medical evacuation, and the inclusion of more rating agencies. The main changes have all be highlighted in red.
Update: These new levels of coverage will come into effect on May 15th 2015, so any participants who are in the USA on a J1 Visa on this date will need to meet these new requirements. For more detailed information about the J1 Visa, please be sure to visit our visa section covering all the main aspects of the visa:
http://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/j1student/
Category: Visa Requirements
Tags: j1 visa, j1 visa changes, j1 visa insurance, j1 visa insurance requirements
Hi Ross, my daughter has a J1 visa with insurance. in a game basket high school she
had an injury in her meniscus and need surgery but insurance company denies the surgery and offers pay tickets flight to my origin country.
how is that possible?
what can I do?
thank you so much.
Hi Joaquin,
Thank you for your enquiry.
Depending on the type of insurance plan, they will offer to fly the participant home instead of paying for treatment in the USA. There are a few reasons why an insurance company might do this, in many cases the participant would want to go home and have surgery, rather than having this extensive surgery in a foreign country. Many will prefer to be with family and friends who will be there to support in their recovery. There is also the cost factor, surgeries such as these are very expensive in the USA – often costing upwards of $50,000 or more.
I would suggest checking your insurance plan certificate, as the wording is mostly likely present there that they will fly home instead of paying for surgery (if that option is available). They would also not be able to fly anyone home without a “fit to fly” certificate from the attending doctor, stating your daughter was fit to fly home. I would suggest you check these two things – but there might not be much you can do.
I hope that helps