Many terms used to describe insurance coverage may be new to international students. Please find below some helpful definitions from Healthcare.gov related to health insurance:
- Benefits: The health care items or services covered under a health insurance plan. Covered benefits and excluded services are defined in the health insurance plan’s coverage documents.
- Copayment: A fixed amount you pay for a health care service after you have paid your deductible (if you have one).
- Deductible: The amount you pay for covered health care services before your insurance plan starts to pay.
- Excluded Services: Health care services that your health insurance plan doesn’t pay for or cover.
- Hospital Outpatient Care: Care in a hospital that usually doesn’t require an overnight stay.
- Inpatient Care: Health care that you get when you’re admitted as an inpatient to a health care facility, like a hospital.
If you find an insurance term that you do not understand, please check the Healthcare.gov Glossary for more information.
Quinnipiac Student Health Services
Quinnipiac’s Student Health Services, provided by Hartford HealthCare, are located on two campuses and ready to help with your medical needs. Student Health Services is available to all enrolled students, regardless of whether they carry the university sponsored health insurance through Gallagher. All full-time Quinnipiac international students will be automatically enrolled in the Quinnipiac Student Health Insurance plan.
Quinnipiac Student Health Services ensures comprehensive care for students by providing various health-related testing and treatment services, mental health services, nutrition consultations and prescription delivery services. Learn more about services offered by Student Health Services
Please note: Dependents cannot access Student Health Services.
Schedule an appointment online
Counseling and Mental Health Services
Quinnipiac's Counseling Services is partnered with Hartford HealthCare to provide resources for a variety of mental health issues and life situations free of cost to students. Learn more about counseling and mental health services offered
Schedule an appointment online
Off-Campus Resources
If you or your dependents need to access health care off campus, you’ll want to confirm with your insurance provider which resources in the Quinnipiac area are IN-NETWORK, as that will impact the cost of accessing them.
It’s important to understand cultural distinctions in health care and how to most effectively utilize health care resources in the U.S. For example, in some countries, it is common to use the ER for minor illnesses, but in the U.S. the ER should only be used for major emergencies. If you arrive at the ER with a non-emergency, your wait may be long, the costs high, and insurance may not cover the bill. Minute clinics or urgent care may be more appropriate.
| Level of illness/injury | Recommended resource |
|---|---|
Life threatening or major emergency, such as:
|
Call 911 or go to the nearest hospital Emergeny Room (ER)
|
|
Minor illness or injury, such as:
|
|
It’s important to remember that one visit may result in multiple bills. For example, if an individual calls 911 and goes to the ER, they may receive a separate bill from a separate provider for services such as:
-
the ambulance ride
-
the ER admission and visit
-
any scans or blood work done on that visit
-
any specialist who was called in
- International students, scholars, and dependents will be fully responsible for health care costs not covered by health insurance. Students can talk with Student Health Services about navigating multiple bills and communicating with health care providers, but this support is generally informational.
- It is important that all international students, scholars, and dependents have insurance coverage effective upon arrival to the U.S.
- It can be difficult to obtain insurance once an individual is sick or hurt, so it is important to be proactive in signing up for and managing health insurance.
- All health insurance questions should be directed to Student Health Services or the insurance provider. Students enrolled in the Quinnipiac Student Health Insurance Plan can review the information on the Gallagher site and contact Gallagher for support with insurance questions.
- The Office of International Students and Scholars is not authorized to advise students on health insurance and related claims or benefits.
It is very important that your accompanying family members also have insurance coverage. The Quinnipiac Student Health Insurance Plan with United available for graduate international students has the option to enroll dependents at an extra cost. Visit the Gallagher website if you have questions about adding dependent coverage. Use your Quinnipiac student email and password to log in.
If you are on a J-1 visa, your dependents must have coverage that meets the J visa requirements for the entire period covered on the Form DS-2019. This is also required if your family members have a DS-2019 but are not present in the United States with you.
Even with insurance, dental and vision care in the U.S. can be quite expensive, so you may want to take care of dental work and purchase corrective lenses before you leave or while visiting your home country. Quinnipiac does not require students to obtain dental or vision coverage, but you may want to consider this optional coverage.
- Undergraduate international students: The Quinnipiac Student Health Insurance Plan with Wellfleet required for undergraduate students includes eye and dental care up to age 26. Visit the Gallagher website for more details
- Graduate international students: The Quinnipiac Student Health Insurance Plan with United available for graduate international students has the option for additional coverage for vision and dental insurance at an extra cost. Visit the Gallagher website for more details
Graduate students may opt to purchase dental or vision coverage separately. The GeoBlue Navigator for Student plan offers dental and vision coverage, but ISA Care Elite does not. OISS has a list of additional dental and vision coverage options available on MyQ.