Medical Insurance Requirements for Exchange Visitors with Insurance from UnitedHealthcare
The U.S. Department of State requires all Exchange Visitors and their accompanying spouse and children to maintain medical insurance which meets all of the requirements below for the entire length of their program:
Minimum Coverage Requirements
- Medical Benefits of at least $100,000 per accident or illness AND
- Repatriation of Remains in the amount of $25,000 AND
- Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $50,000 AND
- A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness AND
- Any policy, plan, or contract secured to fill the above requirements must, at a minimum,
be:
- 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; or a Moody's Investor Services rating of "A3" or above; OR
- Backed by the full faith and credit of the government of the exchange visitor's home country.
Important: To satisfy regulatory requirements, the medical insurance policy must meet ALL of the above requirements for the Exchange Visitor, their spouse, and any children who might accompany the visitor to the U.S. Medical insurance must be maintained for their ENTIRE STAY in the U.S. It is a serious violation of the law if the Exchange Visitor and all dependents are not covered by medical insurance. We will not issue a DS-2019 until you complete the purchase of UnitedHealthcare insurance for you and all family members who will accompany you to the U.S.
UnitedHealthcare is our preferred provider for insurance. Insurance through UnitedHealthcare is quick and easy to purchase, meets all of the above requirements, and is affordable.
Length Of Coverage Requirement
UnitedHealthcare offers insurance with a Policy Year from August 1 through July 31 of the following year. The following are two examples of how coverage works with UnitedHealthcare:
- Example 1: In this example, you plan to be in Wichita for two months from March 1 through April 30. You should purchase insurance for the entire two months that you will be in Wichita.
- Example 2: In this example, you plan to be in Wichita for eight months from May 1 through December
31. Because UnitedHealthcare's Policy Year ends on July 31, you must purchase insurance
for two different periods of time:
- May 1 through July 31 – Purchase this coverage first. You will not be able to purchase insurance for the remainder of your program until UnitedHealthcare releases its new rates for the next Policy Year.
- August 1 through December 31 – You will need to purchase this coverage as soon as UnitedHealthcare releases its rates for the next Policy Year.
Cost Information
The cost for insurance from UnitedHealthcare is:
Coverage Between August 1, 2017 and July 31, 2018
- Exchange Visitor Only: $122/month
- Exchange Visitor and Spouse: $244 per month
- Exchange Visitor and 2 or More Children: $366 per month
- Exchange Visitor and Spouse and One Child: $366 per month
- Exchange Visitor and Spouse and 2 or More Children: $488 per month
Coverage Between August 1, 2018 and July 31, 2019
- Exchange Visitor Only: $142 per month
- Exchange Visitor and Spouse: $284 per month
- Exchange Visitor and 2 or More Children: $426 per month
- Exchange Visitor and Spouse and One Child: $426 per month
- Exchange Visitor and Spouse and 2 or More Children: $568 per month