Expatriate Health Insurance in the USA for Foreigners

Traveling abroad is exciting. Living abroad, especially in the USA, is a whole different level of adventure. An expatriate also called an expat, is a person who has left their home country to live somewhere else. The transition to a new country comes with challenges. One of those challenges is securing adequate international health insurance to cover you in the United States as well as your home country and other countries you may travel to.

Health Coverage for Expatriates in the USA

If you are relocating the United States, it is important to know that the US does not require all expatriates (or US citizens) to have medical coverage. However, the risk of being in the US without medical coverage is massive hospital bills or even no access to medical care. There are newer requirements for certain expats on select visa types that may require you to have health coverage.

Medical costs in the US tend to be higher than in other countries for a couple of reasons. American doctors tend to order more tests and scans than in other countries, and the US deals with a relatively high rate of medical inflation.

Compare Global Medical Plans

Health Insurance for Americans Abroad

Expat Medical Care in the USA

The quality of medical care available in the United States is generally of a high standard. In the United States, health care is provided by private hospitals and clinics. This requires citizens to have private medical insurance. Often, an employer provides insurance that covers the employee and their immediate family. Increasingly, due to rising costs, employees are required to help cover the cost of that medical insurance.

If an employer does not provide health coverage or the coverage is inadequate, most individuals purchase international medical insurance themselves.

A federal Medicare program is available for retirees. There is also Medicaid, which is a federal medical aid program for the poor.

Best Expatriate Health Insurance Plans for Living in the USA

We would recommend two options for expatriates moving to live in the USA. Cigna Global is an excellent global insurer with great service and benefits. Cigna Global offers a flexible plan design allowing you to pick and choose different modules to tailor the plan to your needs and budget. The other suggested plan would be GeoBlue Xplorer which offers similar benefits and service to Cigna. GeoBlue Xplorer is offered in association with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of America and comes with the excellent BCBS network of doctors and hospitals associated with BCBS.

Plan Details

Get a Quote

Plan Details

Get a Quote

The Cost of Medical Coverage for Expatriates in America

Premiums, or the cost of the medical coverage, are based on some factors including country of origin, age, medical history, etc. It is advised to have more comprehensive insurance for US medical coverage because it can cost a lot, but the costs of not having it can be much higher. For example, the tests and scans doctors often run are costly and typically not covered by budget medical insurance plans.

Read: How Much does Medical Care Cost in the USA and How Much does Insurance Cost in the USA

Are all Individuals or Expats Living in the United States Subject to the Individual Shared Responsibility Provision?

The shared responsibility provision is part of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. In short, if you do not have a compliant plan you may have to pay a penalty which would be deducted from future tax returns.

Any non-resident aliens, including international students on F, J, M and Q visas (and certain family members of students) are not subject to the individual mandate for their first 5 years in the U.S. All other J categories (teacher, trainee, work and travel, au pair, high school, etc.) are not subject to the individual mandate for 2 years (out of the past six).

Details: All U.S. citizens living in the United States are subject to the individual shared responsibility provision as are all permanent residents and all foreign nationals who are in the United States long enough during a calendar year to qualify as resident aliens for tax purposes. This category includes nonresident aliens who meet certain presence requirements and elect to be treated as resident aliens. For more information see Pub. 519. More: Shared Responsibility from the IRS (See Question 11)

Travel Medical Insurance for Visitors to the US

If you are an expatriate living in the US, additional medical coverage should be purchased for the period that you will be in the country. You will want to ensure this coverage protects you in case of an accident, a medical emergency as well as repatriation. You should investigate if you will need this insurance before entering the country and if the insurance needs to come from your home country, the U.S. or both!

For periods of less than one year in the US, a travel medical plan may be enough to cover your needs. For younger travelers wanting basic emergency medical insurance (instead of comprehensive major medical cover), a travel medical plan will work well. Most travel medical insurance plans provide coverage for accidents or illness, saving you from large medical bills if you require a visit to the doctor or hospital while in the U.S. as well as give you access to universal pharmaceutical care and translation services, should they be required. For more, see:

Insurance for Visitors to the USA

Safety, Health and Travel Insurance for Travel to The USA

Health Insurance for Australian Expatriates Abroad

If you are looking for a global medical plan to cover you as an expat or international citizen living in the USA, or anywhere in the world, visit International Health Plans or you can Compare Global Medical Plans.