Insurance

Health Insurance For Visitors In USA

Published

7 months ago

April 12, 2024

Silas

The most important part of traveling overseas, particularly to the United States, is obtaining travel health insurance. Even if you are only there for a week or two and are in good health, you cannot forecast the future or any potential accidents.

Do I Need Health Insurance to Visit the US?

While not legally needed for short-term stays, travel medical insurance (visitor insurance) is strongly advised when visiting the United States. This is because healthcare in the United States is quite expensive. A doctor’s visit can cost hundreds of dollars, while an ambulance ride and emergency room care can cost thousands. If you plan to stay in the United States for more than six months, look into expat health insurance choices.

What Are the Best Health Insurance Plans for Visitors to USA?

Here are the top 5 health insurance plans for visitors to the USA:

Safe Travels USA
Visitor Secure.
Visitors Care.
Atlas America.
Patriot America.

According to a Reddit forum debate, commenters on this thread have had great experiences with Travelguard, IMG, Patriot America, and Atlas America. A commenter claims that Travelguard has worked well for their family on numerous occasions by providing coverage for repatriation, canceled trips, and vacation sickness. Another commenter says they’ve always used IMG, while another suggests checking Atlas America or Patriot America.

However, before making a selection, we at VisaGuide.World recommend that you check with multiple sources and compare available plans. At Insubuy, you may buy and compare health insurance plans to choose the one that best meets your needs.

How to Purchase Visitor Medical Insurance for The US?

The best way to purchase travel health insurance in the United States is online. Comparison marketplaces, such as Insubuy, allow you to compare several plans from the comfort of your own home.

Before you buy a health insurance plan for visitors to the United States, you should do your research to select one that meets your needs. This entails going through various plans and thoroughly understanding what they have to offer. When determining which medical insurance plan to purchase, you should carefully study the policy to understand how much coverage is provided and for what.

Check Also: USA: Mandela Washington Fellowship | Fully Funded 2024

Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Travel Health Insurance for USA

Purchasing health insurance in the United States can be difficult and confusing, even for locals, let alone visitors. So, before you decide which plan to buy, make sure you’ve considered the following:

There are health insurance policies with different amounts of coverage. They can range from $25,000 to millions of dollars in coverage. This is the maximum amount of money the insurance company will cover for your medical expenses. Naturally, policies with a higher amount of coverage will cost more.
You have to choose a plan with a policy maximum in concurrence with the time you intend to stay in the US. So, if you are only staying for a week, the policy maximum can be smaller than if you were staying for a month or longer.
Even if you are healthy, do not choose the cheapest visitors health insurance plan you find and call it a day. That’s because if you do need medical care during your trip to the US, a cheap health insurance policy will likely only cover a small portion of your medical bill, leaving you to shoulder the majority.

The coverage: What types of travel health insurance plans are there for visitors?

Coverage-wise, there are two types of travel health insurance plans:

Plans with a fixed coverage
Plans with comprehensive coverage

Fixed coverage	Comprehensive coverage
For this type of health insurance plan, there is a fixed amount that the insurance company pays for every medical procedure, regardless of the cost of the procedure.So, let’s say there’s a fixed amount of $5,000, but you had to undergo a $50,000 surgery; in this case, you will have to pay approximately $45,000 yourself, depending on the deductible.	For this type of health insurance plan, the insurance company pays a percentage of the cost of medical procedures up to a certain amount. For any costs exceeding that amount, the company pays 100% of the costs up to the policy maximum.(E.g: After the deductible*, the health insurance company will cover 80% – 90% of the first $5,000, then 100% of the expenses up to policy maximum).
You have to pay a deductible every time you get sick or injured.	You have to pay a deductible only once for the entire policy.
They have a lower policy maximum**.	They have a higher policy maximum.
They are usually cheaper to purchase.	They are more expensive.

Check Also: How To Get Travel Insurance For Canadians

The deductible is the amount of money you must pay out of pocket for a medical procedure before your health insurance company would cover you. For example, if you have a $2,000 deductible, you must pay $2,000 first before the company will begin paying.

The policy maximum is the highest sum that the travel health insurance policy will pay for any covered medical treatments or expenses. The policy limit varies from plan to plan, and the higher it is, the more expensive the plan.

The price

The price of a travel health insurance plan depends on three main factors:

The type and amount of coverage you want. As mentioned above, comprehensive coverage plans cost more than fixed coverage. Additionally, there are plans which cover more medical procedures and/or emergencies, some can start from the day you land in the US, while others also cover you while you are travelling – so, the more coverage you want, the travel insurance plan will naturally cost more.
The duration. The price of health insurance changes depending on the duration that you need coverage for. A one-week coverage period will be cheaper than if you were purchasing insurance for one month, for example.
Your age. The price of all travel health insurance plans increases along with your age. Senior citizens generally have to pay more for the same amount of coverage than a younger person would. However, most health insurance companies do not offer plans with coverage for elderly visitors over the age of 69 at all. So, if your parents are coming to visit you in the US, it is necessary to find an adequate health insurance plan for elderly parents or visitors to the US. You can also find health insurance for travelers over the age of 80.

Check Also: Safest Countries In The World In 2024

Do not choose the cheapest package you can find! Because inexpensive plans provide significantly less coverage, in the event of a medical emergency, you will end up spending much more out of pocket later.

Travel health insurance premiums are regulated in the United States, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to locate a cheaper plan overseas.

Pre-existing conditions coverage

Not all health insurance companies in the United States provide coverage for pre-existing diseases. For example, if you have diabetes, they will not pay for your prescription while you are abroad. That’s because travel insurance is only designed to cover emergencies or disasters that occur while you’re traveling.

Pregnancy coverage

Travel health insurance plans will also not cover any pregnancy-related problems, at least not those associated with a “normal pregnancy”. So, if you give birth, have a check-up, or receive assistance for something like morning sickness while in the United States, you will be responsible for paying your own medical bills.

What Does US Travel Health Insurance for Visitors Cover?

Usually, all health insurance plans for visitors to the US cover the following: