International student to enroll in USA college in 2015

[suha82]

I hava a question and i'm an asian guy.I've planned to do a phd in USA, is there any possibility to get insurance coverage from the uni/usa govt for hiv meds? what is the first step i should do after touching down in USA?

[JR Gabbard]

Your first step, before you leave home, is to ask your university whether they offer a student healthcare plan.  Most universities do, so there's a good start.  That insurance plan would cover HIV medications.

[emeraldize]

Here's an example of how the University of Maryland lays out their info to students.

Perhaps the school you hope to attend has a similar page on their website.

http://www.health.umd.edu/general_insurance_faq

[BT65]

Get a hold of the nearest ASO (Aids service organization).  I know at the one I was employed at, there were a couple students from abroad.  Because they had student visas, they were able to get ID's and SS numbers.  The enables people to get on insurance easier.  The case managers at the ASO's usually figure this out. 
We were able to get clients with student visas on insurance fairly easily.  Of course this could have all changed with the ACA, but getting in contact with an ASO would be a good idea.  If you know someone in the town you're moving to, they may be able to check things out for you prior to your arrival.

Betty

[suha82]

Many thanks to betty,emeral and gabbard

[emeraldize]

Please let us know how you fare as it will help the next student who inquires as you have.

Thank you.

[Miss Philicia]

There are policies called "F1 Student Visa Insurance" (or also M-1 visa) and universities generally require foreign students to have these -- they provide extra things like "medical evacuation" and "repatriation benefits" which I guess are for extreme situations and your body has to be sent back to wherever you came from.

Every university will have a section on what they require in terms of healthcare/how it works for an international student. For example, attending the University of Pennsylvania as a graduate student you would also be eligible for additional insurance other than the university program. And something like this:

https://www.isoa.org

... offers several levels of coverage.