OPT Student health insurance plan in U.S. (Guide for 2026)
1.What is OPT health insurance?
1. What is OPT health insurance?
OPT, also known as Optional Practical Training, is the period after graduation when international students on F1 visas are legally allowed to work in the United States. OPT health insurance refers to health coverage designed for international students on F-1 visas during their Optional Practical Training (OPT) period in the United States.
Since most university-sponsored student health plans end upon graduation, students are typically no longer eligible to remain on their school insurance once their academic program finishes. OPT insurance helps provide continuous health coverage throughout your OPT period, or until you transition to an employer-sponsored health plan or another long-term insurance option.
Although the U.S. government does not legally require health insurance during OPT, healthcare in the U.S. is extremely expensive — a single emergency room visit can cost over $2,000, and hospital stays may reach tens of thousands of dollars without insurance. For this reason, having OPT insurance is strongly recommended to protect against high medical bills and to ensure access to quality healthcare while working in the U.S.
2.What situations are suitable for OPT health insurance?
2. What situations are suitable for OPT health insurance?
All students in OPT are eligible to purchase OPT health insurance regardless of their non-employment or employment status.
For students who are starting to work in employment status, some companies are not large enough or financially able to provide health insurance for their employees:
- Some companies only provide health insurance for full-time employees, and interns are not eligible for medical coverage.
- Some companies only pay part of the premium for their employees. For example, a customer in New York would have to pay $600/month for insurance, since switching to Student Medicover health insurance, only costs around $70 a month.
If your employer does not provide health insurance for you, Student Medicover affordable OPT health insurance is your best choice for health insurance.
*Students who are in their grace period after graduation are not eligible to purchase OPT health insurance during this time. However, you may consider our Short-term Medical Insurance or Travel Insurance options. For more details, please visit Travel & Short-Term Insurance.
3.Why does OPT health insurance matter?
3. Why does OPT health insurance matter?
❖ Uncontrollable high medical bills and other risks
The price of medical care in the United States is uncontrollably high: some people stay in the hospital for one day $20,000 +, some people see the doctor once $500 + …… If there is no insurance, students need to pay for it out of pocket. For those who choose to return to their home country for medical treatment, whether it is because of the instability of their status during OPT （If you don’t have a stable job, you run the risk of not being able to return to the U.S. ）or during the COVID-19 pandemic，it could be a very risky choice.
❖ Being sick may affect your work performance
After you start working, the time and opportunity cost of getting sick is very high. Faced with a tight schedule and intense workload, illness may cause you to miss important meetings and deadlines.
❖ F1 visa insurance premiums are lower
The OPT period is still an F1 visa and allows you to purchase an affordable alternative health insurance plan, which is considerably cheaper than many green cards or U.S. citizens’ insurance. And since there is no longer a school insurance requirement during OPT, the coverage time is more flexible and there is a wider variety of options.
4. Student Medicover OPT health insurance benefits
4.Student Medicover OPT health insurance benefits
❖ Student Medicover OPT health insurance Rates
Basic
UHC Options PPO Network
- $500 Deductible
- 80% Coinsurance
- $50 Copay Physician Visit
- N/A Out-of-pocket Maximum
- $200 Adult Vision Benefit
- $1,600 Value Add-On Benefits
Prime 500
100% Cover Preventive Care
School Vaccinations in Preferred Providers
- $500 Deductible
- 80% Coinsurance
- $50 Copay Physician Visit
- $7,350 Out-of-pocket Maximum
- $200 Adult Vision Benefit
- $1,600 Value Add-On Benefits
Prime 100
Affordable Deductible
$200 Adult Vision Benefit
- $100 Deductible
- 80% Coinsurance
- $25 Copay Physician Visit
- $6,350 Out-of-pocket Maximum
- $200 Adult Vision Benefit
- $1,600 Value Add-On Benefits
Elite
Deductible Low to $0
Coinsurance Up to 90%
- $0 Deductible
- 90% Coinsurance
- $20 Copay Physician Visit
- $5,000 Out-of-pocket Maximum
- $200 Adult Vision Benefit
- $1,600 Value Add-On Benefits
Supreme
UHCSR Top Level Coverage Plan
Add-on medical and insurance benefits
- $0 Deductible
- 90% Coinsurance
- $20 Copay Physician Visit
- $5,000 Out-of-pocket Maximum
- $200 Adult Vision Benefit
- $1,600 Value Add-On Benefits
*The above terms apply to preferred network.*The above prices apply to users under 25 years old.
*To explore insurance plans beyond the featured ones, please refer to the quotes below.The actual rates are also based on the quotes provided below.
❖ Student Medicover OPT health insurance Benefits
- Affordable starting at $2.36 per day
- Flexible coverage time and multiple insurance plan options
- PPO medical network with providers and physicians throughout the United States
- Medical Coverage
- Mental Health Coverage
- The only insurance plan that includes Vision Benefit
- Users over 19 years old: $100 vision exam and $100 vision supplies (Supreme/Elite/ Prime 100）
- Users under 19 years old: 100% coinsurance for vision exams and prescriptions (Supreme/Elite/Prime 100/Prime 500)
- Emergency services: ambulance and emergency room
- Preventive vaccines
- Immunizations required for school enrollment
- HPV (under 46 years old)
- Flu shot, etc.
- Free online physician visits & counseling services
- 24/7 online professional customer service including
- Enroll the plan
- Find nearby in-network providers and doctors
- Help with insurance claims
- Answer all medical and insurance questions
5. How to enroll your OPT student health insurance
5. Special Offer! How to Enroll your OPT student health insurance
We recommend purchasing from the day your existing insurance expires to ensure that you have medical coverage for every day you are in the United States.
Use referral code：SMXHSU for extra $10 benefit after enrollment!
