J-1 Health Insurance Requirement

Immigration regulations require J-1 exchange visitors and accompanying J-2 dependents to maintain comprehensive medical insurance with evacuation and repatriation coverage that meets U.S. government minimum requirements for the full duration of the J-1 program. There cannot be any breaks or lapses in insurance coverage even if one travels outside the U.S. for an extended period of time during the J program. Your insurance must also start on (or before) your DS-2019 start date. If you will be arriving in the U.S. prior to your DS-2019 start date, it is highly advisable to have insurance for the entire time that you will be present in the United States. Please review the ISSS Insurance Resource List for more information and a list of insurance providers.

  • J-1 exchange visitors at CU Boulder must provide ISSS with a valid Insurance Compliance e-form (available in the MyISSS portal) at the start of their J-1 programs and during their J-1 programs. Any time that your insurance information changes (including the renewal of a policy, the addition of dependents, and the extension of a J-1 program, the extension of an insurance plan, etc.) you will need to submit a new J-1 Insurance Compliance Form.

The willful failure to carry the required insurance for yourself and if applicable your dependents, or material misrepresentation of insurance coverage, may result in the termination of your J program and legal status in the United States.

The J insurance coverage must provide the following
minimum coverage:

  • Minimum medical benefit of $100,000 per person per accident or illness;

  • Deductible that does not exceed $500 per accident or illness;

  • Minimum repatriation of remains in the amount of $25,000;

  • Minimum medical evacuation expenses In the amount of $50,000; and

  • Co-insurance paid by J-1 not to exceed 25% of covered benefits per accident or illness.

Insurance policies:

  • May require a waiting period for pre-existing conditions that is reasonable as determined by current industry standards; and
  • Must not unreasonably exclude coverage for the perils inherent to the activities of the exchange program in which you participate.

Any policy, plan, or contract secured to fill the J insurance
requirements must at minimum be:

  • Underwritten by an insurance corporation having:

    • An A.M. Best rating of "A-" or above; or

    • A McGraw Hill Financial/Standard & Poor Claims-paying ability rating of "A-" or above; or

    • A Weiss Research, Inc. rating of "B+" or above; or

    • A Fitch Ratings, Inc. rating of "A- or above; or

    • A Moody's Investor Services rating of "A3" or above; or

  • Be backed by the full faith and credit of the exchange visitor's home country; or

  • Part of a health benefits program offered on a group basis to employees enrolled students by a designated sponsor; or

  • Offered through or underwritten by a federally qualified Health Maintenance Organization or eligible Competitive Medial Plan as determined by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

J-1s and any J-2 accompanying spouse and dependent(s) may also be subject to the requirements of the Affordable Care Act [22 CFR 62.14(a)] . Be aware that the ACA requirements may exceed the U.S. Department of State requirements.

  • Employment Start Date & Insurance Coverage
    • If your CU employment start date is the first day of the month (and you will be starting on that day), then your CU insurance coverage will start on the first day of the month.
    • If your CU employment start date is after the first day of the month, then your CU insurance coverage will start on the first day of the next month.
  • Medical Evacuation and Repatriation Coverage
  • University Health Insurance
  • Open Enrollment to Change or Renew University Benefits (including Health Insurance)
    • At the end of April/beginning of May, you will have the ability to change your benefit selections. You may have to re-enroll in your current benefits.
    • Benefit changes cannot be made at other times of the year unless there is a qualifying life event.

  • When you move to the United States and change to active J-1 Status, this may allow you to change your current CU medical insurance benefits. You will want to directly contact Employee Services to assist you with this process:
    • If you have been working from abroad and did not previously waive your insurance coverage, there is a good chance that you are currently enrolled in either the CU High Deductible Plan (PPO) or the CU Extended Plan (PPO). These plans do not meet the minimum J-1 medical insurance requirements, so you will want to consider changing to a CU medical insurance plan that does meet the minimum medical requirements. 
    • Upon your arrival to the US, work with Employee Services and your department representative to complete a benefits enrollment/change form. It is important that you submit this form as soon as possible after arriving in the US in order to ensure that you do not miss your opportunity to change your CU medical insurance benefits.
    • You must submit the form to Employee Services within 31 days of your move. If you fail to submit this within 31 days, you will miss your opportunity to change your CU medical insurance benefits. The next time that you will be able to make a change will be during open enrollment (at the end of April/beginning of May).
    • Your new insurance elections will be effective the first of the month following your move to the US (and start of your J-1 Exchange Visitor program). Depending on when your insurance will start, you may need to purchase a temporary medical insurance policy in order to prevent a lapse in insurance coverage during your J-1 Exchange Visitor program. A list of various insurance providers is available in our Insurance Resource Guide.
  • University Health Insurance 
  • Medical Evacuation and Repatriation Coverage

  • A Change of Status is not considered a qualifying life event and this does not allow you to change your CU benefits elections. If you are currently enrolled in a CU medical insurance plan, you will not be able to change your health insurance plan until the Open Enrollment Period. This Open Enrollment Period usually begins at the end of April/beginning of May. During this period, you will have the ability to change your benefits selections. Your new benefits elections will go into effect July 1st of the same year. Only the CU Health Plan Exclusive (HMO) and the CU Health Plan Kaiser (EPO) plans meet the minimum requirements for J-1 medical insurance. If you are not enrolled in either of these plans, you will need to purchase your own insurance until you can change health insurance plans during the Open Enrollment Period.
  • If you are currently enrolled in a CU medical insurance plan that DOES MEET the minimum J-1 medical insurance requirements, then you will likely only need to purchase evacuation/repatriation insurance (if you haven't purchased this already):
    • You will need to provide ISSS with your current CU medical insurance information  on the Insurance Compliance (Check-In) e-form included in the ISSS Immigration Check-In e-forms (available in the J-1 Scholar services section of the MyISSS portal)
    • You will also need to provide ISSS with your evacuation/repatriation insurance information that meets the minimum J-1 requirements when submitting your J-1 Check-in Documents
    • CU Boulder insurance plans never cover evacuation/repatriation insurance, so you must purchase an evacuation/repatriation plan separately on your own. You can find a list of providers that offer evacuation/repatriation insurance online in our Insurance Resource Guide. 
  • If you are currently enrolled in a CU medical insurance plan that DOES NOT MEET the minimum J-1 medical insurance requirements, then you will need to purchase a temporary medical insurance plan while you wait to enroll in one of the CU plans that does meet these requirements during the Open Enrollment Period:
    • You must purchase your own medical insurance. Your insurance may come from any country, but it must be able to be used in the US and meet the minimum J-1 insurance requirements. ISSS must receive this information by the time your Change of Status to J-1 Exchange Visitor begins. You may find a list of providers that offer medical and evacuation/repatriation insurances online in our Insurance Resource Guide. 
    • CU Boulder insurance plans never cover evacuation/repatriation insurance, so you must purchase an evacuation/repatriation plan separately on your own. You can find a list of providers that offer evacuation/repatriation insurance online in our Insurance Resource Guide. 

  • You must independently purchase medical/health insurance AND evacuation/repatriation insurance for you (and any J-2 dependents accompanying you) that meets the minimum benefit levels stated in the regulations.
  • A list of insurance providers that offer medical/health insurance and evacuation/repatriation insurance coverage is available in our Insurance Resource Guide.

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