Health & Safety
Health Insurance Comparison (school plan vs external)
University plan vs external plan — by real-life scenarios, not just brochure highlights.
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All calculations happen in your browser. Nothing leaves this page.
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How to use this calculator well
- Pull the school's plan details from the bursar or student health center webpage. The values shown are typical defaults.
- If you're shopping for an external plan, request the plan's PDF benefits summary and look for: deductible, copay, coinsurance, out-of-pocket max, network.
- Set your expected usage honestly. Healthy 22-year-old grad students typically have 2-4 doctor visits per year. ER visits are rare but expensive.
- Toggle the 'Major medical event' option to test catastrophic coverage — useful for understanding what happens if something really does happen.
Frequently asked questions
Is the school plan always best?
Not always. If you have no medical conditions and rarely visit doctors, a compliant external plan can save $800-1500 per year. But the school plan usually has a richer network near campus and lower co-pays.
What are the F-1 minimum benefits I must have?
USCIS does not mandate specific coverage, but most schools require waiving students to have ≥$100,000 in medical coverage, ≥$25,000 repatriation, ≥$10,000 medical evacuation, and pre-existing condition coverage.
Will my plan cover pre-existing conditions?
Student health plans generally do cover pre-existing conditions. Some external plans exclude or limit them — read the disclosure.
What are the common mistakes when using Health Insurance Comparison (school plan vs external)?
Most common mistakes come down to four habits: entering 20 when the field expects 0.2 because the field is a percentage; leaving a field blank and accepting the default without checking what it stands for; changing one input and reading a result that was calculated before the change; and quoting the output as an exact figure when the page describes it as a reference estimate. Press calculate again after any edit, and treat the number as a reference point rather than a final answer.Where this estimate falls short
- Network specifics matter. Our calc doesn't know which providers are in-network for each plan.
- Pharmacy coverage varies dramatically. If you take a regular medication, model that separately.
- Mental health parity requirements are real, but plan-specific visit caps may apply.