Trust me, it's a really important topic. I've been living in the United
States for the last couple of years. What documents you need for an F1 visa,
the lifestyle here, and there are very few people who cover this. And guys,
this hand of mine got fractured. The cost came to $25,000 to $30,000. The
requirements to maintain your status as an F1 visa holder. Plus tomorrow if you
get married, your wife comes from Pakistan or India, or your parents come to
visit. You can have everything in life but if your health isn't good then
nothing else feels worth it.
Introduction
Good morning. Welcome back to another article. How are you all doing?
Doing alright, all good. From today's title you must have already gotten an
idea. It's a big article. So I won't waste much time. Let's go. But for that
first we need to set a little mood before talking about it. So let's head out
from here. I've already had breakfast. Aloo ka paratha. Ahh that was good. Not
much going around today. We'll get straight to the topic. First let me grab a
coffee. Let's set a little mood and then talk about this. Let's go.
My laptop and camera bag, everything is inside and the car is open.
That's the trust level here. People could take stuff from here too. But anyway the
mood is set. I've come to the restaurant. I've had my coffee. I am charged up.
So let's talk about without further ado today's important topic : health insurance.
Who Am I and Why Am I
Talking About This
I know for some people this might sound really boring but trust me it's
a really important topic. First let me give a little introduction for those who
are seeing me for the first time. My name is Ali Hassan Raza. I've been living
in the United States for the last couple of years, five six years now. And I
make articles. F1 visa related stuff, what documents you need, the lifestyle
here in the United States, and whatever else I feel like covering, I just make
content about it.
So when I wanted to talk about this topic I noticed that among all of us
articlegers here who make content related to student visa stuff, very few
people cover health insurance : including me. And the reason I felt the need
for it was first of all because of a personal experience I had, after which I thought
I really should make a article about this.
The Time My Hand Got
Fractured : And What It Cost
A little back story. About a year to a year and a half ago, I was
working here at this very restaurant. I went to the back for some work, it was
slippery back there, I slipped, and guys this hand of mine got fractured. If
you can see those stitches a little bit there, yes that's from it. We went to
the emergency room. Now luckily, thank God, I had health insurance. The treatment
happened under it. It was a fracture. They put a cast on it. Then after a week
or two I had a surgery appointment. That got booked with a surgeon. Then the
surgery happened. Long story short, the total cost for this entire process came
to $25,000 to $30,000. And thankfully, alhamdulillah, because of the insurance,
the amount that came out of my own pocket was I think somewhere between $1,200
to $1,500. The rest, 90 to 95 percent of it, was covered by health insurance.
Out of $25,000 to $30,000, I paid $1,000 to $1,500 and health insurance paid
everything else.
Why Health Insurance is a
Must for F1 Students
Now the kids who are studying here on a student visa, they probably know
that health insurance is one of the requirements to maintain your status as an
F1 visa holder. For those who are applying, new students who are about to come
here, this is very important information for them too. Because whenever you
come here, one of the important things is that you have to get health
insurance. There are two or three ways to do it.
Why it's necessary to get it is because God forbid if you don't have it
and you have to make even a single visit to the emergency room or a doctor,
your bank account empties faster here than you can get a coffee at a coffee
shop. It is very expensive. Healthcare in the US, UK, Canada, Australia,
anywhere : it's very expensive.
For people applying for F1, one of the requirements is either you get
health insurance from whichever university or college you're applying to. Or
you can search on your own for which options seem better for you, where your
money doesn't go too much and you still get health insurance.
I did make a article when my hand got fractured, that's also up there.
You can watch that too if you want some more information from there regarding
today's topic, that yes this is a basic need : health insurance : and everyone should know about it.
Today's Sponsor : Vis Coverage Insurance
First of all I would like to say thank you to Vis Coverage Insurance who
are sponsoring today's blog. Now when my conversation with them started, first
of all the people who watch me and follow me, it's their kindness and they
trust that this guy will give them legitimate information. So when my
conversation with this company started, all those questions came to my mind
that as a student I had when I was looking for health insurance : all the things I didn't know. So I said let me
have a meeting with them and ask all the important questions, and then I'll go
and share everything with you. I had email conversations with them, then I had
a meeting on a Zoom call with them, and I asked them all those questions that
as a student I needed to know.
So if you go to their page, viscoverage.com, it's a very user friendly
page. You'll easily find all the information. And what surprised me was that
first of all you can get insurance on a long term basis. Second, you can also
get insurance on a short term basis for yourself. Plus tomorrow if you get
married and your wife comes from Pakistan or India, or your parents come to
visit, you can get insurance for them on a short term basis too.
You know that your parents' health keeps going up and down, on and off,
and they might need to see a doctor or get checked at a hospital at any time.
So they offer short term insurance on that basis as well : for your parents and the people who are
visiting from your home country.
So if you visit their page everything is very easy. It's user friendly.
What is international insurance? What is US visit insurance? Even what is
European Schengen visa insurance? What is travel insurance? How can you apply
for it, sign up, and in case you need to cancel it, how can you cancel it.
Things You Must Know Before
Picking Any Insurance Plan
There are a few important things they cover and you should know about
them whenever you're applying for any insurance.
Now what students do is they don't know which insurance is better for
them. Because what they do is the university or college said to get insurance,
they just paid the money and the insurance came. But you don't even know what's
being covered inside it. But you're paying for it.
So there are three or four things you should always keep in mind.
Whether you get insurance from this company or from any other company. Let me
tell you.
Finding the best option for you
First thing is what are the best options for you. Best options meaning
the insurance that covers you and you get the things covered that you actually
need. Plus if your wife is coming with you or your parents want to visit, you
also get a bundle package where you can say this group package will cost me
this much for this insurance.
How to compare plans and coverage
If you go to their page and go to Get Quote, you can compare your plans
there. What coverage do I need, what are the important quotes, what things can
be covered, and how much will I have to pay out of pocket. Because inside this
there are premiums, there are copays, there's deductible : what all of that is, if I sit down and explain
all of that to you the article will get very long. So go to their page, go to
Get Quote. Whatever you want covered, do that.
Plus you'll also get a comparative cost so you know how much health
insurance I need. My wife's health keeps being unwell. Tomorrow she needs to go
to the hospital. A baby is about to be born, she's pregnant, multiple checkups
are going to happen. How will that be covered? How much will I have to pay in
that? Parents are coming so I need a bundle package, what all can I get covered
in that? And then what will the cost be?
Why staying insured is also a legal requirement
Because when you live here everything has a cost. You have to pay your
mortgage. You have to pay car insurance. Without that your car becomes illegal.
You can't drive it. You'll immediately get a ticket on the road. In the same
way if you're on an F1 visa and you go out of insurance then legally you're not
maintaining your status. So this is a very important thing. Cover this too.
Check which hospitals are covered near you
Common questions that you have and don't know the answers to : like the hospital that is nearest to where I
live, is it covered by this insurance? God forbid if at 2am I ever have to go
to a hospital or take a family member, that nearest hospital should be covered
under this health insurance. Your primary care should be within a couple of
miles radius of your home so that whenever you need it you can easily go there.
Understanding your copay
Plus what is your copay? What is a copay : it means whenever you visit any medical
office, a portion you pay from your own pocket and besides that the major
portion is paid by your health insurance company. When I went to the emergency
room, $100 came from my pocket. The rest of the amount, the emergency visit
cost $1,600, was paid by my insurance company.
The Most Common Mistake
People Make
Last and most important one : what are the common mistakes you can make.
Like I need this coverage but I've already taken this coverage, X or Z or
whatever. So instead of paying the amount, you should at least know that
whatever coverage I'm taking, what is covered inside it, which hospitals are in
it, what can they cover, are surgeries covered, are medical visits covered. So
all these things are very important.
I'll put the link in the bio. Do make sure to go through it, work on it,
check it out. If you have any related question ask me. So go to their page.
Again I'll say the same thing, it's a user friendly page. When I first started
reading about it everything came to my fingertips that yes, if you have basic
English you can do it. You can go to their helpline. You can talk to them. I
even had a meeting with them. So then you can cover all your questions with
them and say these are my requirements, according to this which plan will be
the best for me, for my wife, for my parents.
Final Thoughts
You can have everything in life. But if your health isn't good then
nothing else feels worth it. Join us for more info on health insurance policies. Take care of yourself.
Remember me in your prayers. Stay healthy, take care. God bless you.
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