Insurance & Immunization
Mandatory Health Insurance. Medical insurance is a necessity. In fact, the Study Abroad Center requires that all students going abroad have adequate health insurance before being allowed to participate in a program. Check your current health insurance policy to see whether you have coverage when outside the US. If not, see if such coverage is available on a short-term basis (for the length of your studies plus your travel time) for policy-holders. Proof of coverage (not a copy of your insurance card) must be submitted to the program director in a timely fashion but no later than 30 days after admission into the program. If your carrier will not cover you outside the US, cannot provide proof of coverage in writing, and does not have a supplemental policy you can purchase through them, consider other options. Check with the company that provides your auto or renter/homeowner insurance to see whether they have a policy that will meet your needs. Check with the Study Abroad Center. Brochures are available from several companies that offer health insurance on a short-term basis to students studying abroad. Be aware, however, that most of these companies only offer basic coverage for accidents and health emergencies and that you will have to pay the doctor's or hospital's bill and then submit a claim and wait to be reimbursed. Medical and dental check-ups are a good idea, especially if your program is going to be physically rigorous or if you will be gone more than a few weeks. Get any problems taken care of before you travel, and get any prescriptions you will need written and refilled. A toothache is no fun at home and is even worse when you are nowhere near a dentist you trust! Immunizations. Update your immunization records regardless of where you are traveling. Don't ruin a trip to the beach by wondering whether that scratch you got on the coral will result in tetanus! Depending on where you are going, you may need to begin medications or injections to prevent malaria, yellow fever, and a host of other diseases not common in the US. Check with the Student Health Center or with your personal physician regarding what you will need. Treatment may take several months, so start early. Check the Center for Disease Control and Prevention web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/travel |