health care system in the u.s.
and Health Insurance
UNDERSTANDING THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AND INSURANCE IN THE U.S.
From: A joint statement from the American College Health Association and NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
Health care in the United States is a profit making enterprise. This may be very different from health care in your home country which, for example, could be subsidized by your home government and available to you free of charge. In the United States, health care is an industry. A secondary industry has grown up in the U.S. related to health care: the health insurance industry. Simply stated, the health insurance purchased by millions of people in the U.S. generates capital (US $) that pays the medical bills of people who are ill. This concept presumes that the great majority of policy holders will be healthy at any one point in time.
Definitions:
PREMIUM: This is an annual payment made when you purchase an insurance policy. These premiums are subject to yearly change since the insurance industry is affected by economic tides in much the same way that other U.S. industries are affected. For example, since the population of elderly people in the U.S. is getting larger, the pool of healthy policy holders (see above) is shrinking. This drives premiums up since there are more claims made from the elderly group and fewer people in the group making no claims. Similarly, high-tech health care in the U.S. is enormously expensive to develop and maintain, and this expense is eventually passed along to policy holders.
DEDUCTIBLE: This is a payment that is made by the policy holder for an initial part of an insurance claim. Deductibles might be paid only once a year (i.e. the first $100 accrued in the coverage period), or paid on a per-sickness basis.
CO-PAYMENT: A co-payment is a percentage of an insurance claim that must be paid by the policy holder.
MAJOR MEDICAL: This is an insurance policy extensive enough to cover even catastrophic sickness or injury.
PRE-EXISTING CONDITION: This is an illness or medical condition that existed before the policy holder purchased the insurance policy. In most cases, insurance policies will not cover such medical conditions.
Summary:
The high cost of health care in the United States presents serious financial risks for foreign students and their accompanying dependents who are not adequately covered by college health services or medical insurance to meet extended needs off campus. Foreign students present a high risk to health delivery agencies when they are underinsured as well. It is critical that institutions require adequate health insurance for all students and accompanying dependents and determine an appropriate minimal standard of coverage in order to reduce the damaging direct costs to students. Institutions and college health programs share responsibility to continue to provide support for a vigorous program of education to all concerned parties about the realities of the U.S. health care system and its cost, stressing individual financial responsibility related to the various health services, and the cross-cultural dimensions of health care.
Rollins College has a mandatory health insurance policy for all international students. The premium is charged every fall term (unless starting program in spring or summer term) on students’ accounts and payment is required by the start of the term. If students can show proof of comparable health insurance coverage, the insurance premium may be waived. Additional information regarding health care and health insurance will be provided to students at the International Student Orientation.
Click for the Rollins College Student Health Insurance Policy and Waiver Request Forms.
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