Program participants and their dependents are required to have medical, evacuation and repatriation insurance coverage for the duration of their program with the following minimum benefits [22 CFR 62.14]. Insurance coverage must begin no later than the “Program Begin Date” as noted on their DS-2019 Form and must not end before the effective “Program End Date.”

If the participant has Temple health insurance coverage as part of their benefits package, they only need to purchase evacuation and repatriation insurance coverage.

It is dangerous to be in the United States without adequate health insurance. Although in many countries the government bears the expense of health care for its citizens, and sometimes even for visitors, individuals and families in the United States are responsible for these costs themselves. Since a single day of hospitalization and medical treatment can cost thousands of dollars, many hospitals and doctors refuse to treat uninsured patients except in life-threatening emergencies. Most Americans rely on insurance, and you should do the same. Insurance gives you access to better and more timely health care, and provides the only protection against the enormous costs of health care in this country.

When you purchase health insurance coverage, the money you pay (your premium) is combined with the premiums of others to form a pool of money. That money is then used to pay the medical bills of those participants who need health care. Your coverage remains valid only as long as you continue to pay your insurance premiums.

Once you purchase insurance, the company will provide you with an insurance identification card for use as proof of your coverage when you are seeking health care from a hospital or doctor. The company will also provide written instructions for reporting and documenting medical expenses (filing a claim). The company will evaluate any claim that you file, and make the appropriate payment for coverage under your particular policy. In some cases the company pays the hospital or doctor directly; in others the company reimburses the policy holder after he or she has paid the bills.

1. May require a waiting period for pre-existing conditions that is reasonable as determined by current industry standards;
2. May include provisions for co-insurance under the terms of which the exchange visitor may be required to pay up to 25% of the covered benefits per accident or illness; and 
3. Must not unreasonably exclude coverage for perils inherent to the activities of the exchange program in which the exchange visitor participates.

Any policy, plan, or contract secured to fill the above requirements must, at a minimum, be:

1.  Underwritten by an insurance corporation having 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; or such other rating as the Department of State may from time to time specify; or
2. Backed by the full faith and credit of the government of the exchange visitor’s home country; or
3. Part of a health benefits program offered on a group basis to employees or enrolled students by a designated sponsor; or
4. Offered through or underwritten by a federally qualified Health Maintenance Organization or eligible Competitive Medical Plan as determined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

If you have a two year appointment or longer, the US Department of State requires you to have health, evacuation and repatriation insurance that covers you for the duration of the whole program. DS-2019s cannot be issued without full insurance coverage. International SOS and Insubuy allow you to purchase insurance for the 2nd year of your Post Doc appointment if you have a multiyear appointment. Sometimes you may have buy insurance from two different companies or call the company and ask them for coverage for 2 years. 

ISSS has spoken with Insubuy and they provided us with the following instructions when purchasing insurance for more than 1 year. 

1. If you only need to purchase the Medical Evacuation and Repatriation (your medical insurance is included in your Temple appointment), this is the recommended plan: https://www.insubuy.com/medical-evacuation-and-repatriation-insurance/.

2. First, purchase the policy for the full 365 day duration first.

3. To have a policy beyond the 365 days allowed duration, you need documentation showing why you need the extended policy. The inviting academic department at Temple should provide the scholar with the following letter on departmental letterhead (this can be written by the department business admin, it doesn't need to me from the PI, etc.):

   • The _________ Department at Temple University has invited __________ (Scholar name and date of birth) to participate in a J-1 Exchange Visitor Program at Temple as a ______ (title of appointment) from ___________ (appointment start and end date). Full evacuation and repatriation insurance coverage is required by the US Department of State to obtain a form DS-2019 for the duration of this J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, so we are writing to request a manual extension of the insurance coverage for the dates listed above. 

4. Then, send an email to service@insubuy.com with the proof of 365 coverage purchase + the letter from the department and request a manual insurance coverage extension. Once this information is received it is escalated to Insurance company’s compliance department for review. *Because these types of requests require further review, processing times can take between 3-5 business days*

5. Inform ISSS once you have the insurance coverage, and upload it into your DestinyOne application. 

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If your insurance company is not listed below, you will need to fill out an insurance compliance form.

Please keep in mind that many health insurance plans offered in the United States do not include Dental and Vision Insurance.  Please consult your insurance provider to ascertain whether or not your plan will cover dental and vision. 

• Associated Insurance Plans
• Golden West Dental and Vision