For many international students, their first brush with the U.S. healthcare system comes in the form of the optional practical training insurance, commonly called OPT insurance. In the United States, an international student is allowed a particular period of time, usually 12 months, to hone the skills learned in college. Insurance for the student on F-1 visa during this period is called OPT insurance.

Optional practical training insurance is designed as a short-term health insurance to help F-1 visa holders and their dependents tide over the optional practical training period with medical coverage for sudden and unexpected ailments and accidents.

Most school-sponsored health insurance plans do not offer coverage for a student under OPT, and if they do, it’s often priced much higher than the international student health insurance plan. Until the F-1 holder returns to the home country, or gains employment, OPT insurance provides health coverage that is so important in the United States.

Although it is not required by law, OPT insurance is a wise decision for those international students who want to ensure that their life, savings, and credit history remain in good condition. The high costs of U.S. healthcare make OPT health insurance mandatory by logic.

Some of the typical benefits offered by Optional practical training insurance include inpatient and outpatient care, emergency medical assistance, ambulance services, dental expenses (excluding routine care), emergency medical evacuation, accidental death and dismemberment, as well as repatriation of remains. Most plans also cover prescription drugs for new ailments.

Being a short-term insurance plan, Optional practical training insurance for international students typically excludes maternity benefits and routine eye and dental exams. Most OPT insurance plans also exclude pre-existing conditions; however, it is possible to find plans with look-back periods as short as one year.

There are a wide range of options to choose from for OPT health insurance. Maximum benefits ranging from $25,000 to $1 million, deductibles which affect the premium payable, and plan durations lasting anywhere between five days and one year, are all choices available to the OPT insurance plan applicant.

An international student must choose OPT insurance wisely, considering future plans as well. Students planning to return home after their OPT period runs out will do well with the one-year plan, and those who are hoping to receive permanent employment and consequently, employer-sponsored insurance, might want to purchase insurance monthly, or for three months at a time.

Dan Miller often writes about OPT health insurance

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