J-1 Exchange Visitor Medical Insurance Requirement

Health insurance, including medical evacuation and repatriation coverage, is required by the U.S.

Department of State (DOS) as a condition for participation in the J-1 Exchange Visitor program. Please

see the Federal Regulations for J-1 Medical Insurance

for a detailed outline of the requirements. All J-1

Exchange Visitors and their J-2 dependents must be in compliance with the insurance provision for the

duration of their J program.

he University of North Carolina (UNC) has contracted with GeoBlue to provide health insurance

coverage that meets the regulatory requirements. You may purchase insurance online before or

immediately after your arrival to Chapel Hill. Instructions on how to enroll in Geoblue coverage can be

found on page 7 of the J-1 Scholar Welcome Handout.

J-1 Exchange Visitors who are enrolled students

or Postdoctoral Scholars may be eligible for coverage under the UNC Student Blue, Student Blue RA/TA,

or Blue Options Postdoc Plan.

rogram sponsors are required to certify to DOS that all J-1 and J-2 participants are in compliance.

Therefore, the exchange visitor must provide proof of insurance coverage to ISSS at check-in or no later

than one week after arrival in the U.S. Insurance coverage must be verified when requesting actions

such as extensions of stay, travel signatures or the addition of dependents. Please note, both J-1

exchange visitors and their J-2 dependents must maintain coverage that meets DOS requirements for

the entire duration of the program including periods of stay outside of the country.

Scholars who fail to maintain required insurance for themselves and any accompanying J-2 family

members will be terminated from the program and must depart from the United States. There is no

grace period for departure when an exchange visitor is terminated.

he following are approved UNC plans:

1. GeoBlue Student International Health Plan for the University System of the State of North

Carolina: Most J-1 scholars and J-2 dependents are eligible to enroll in this plan. To enroll visit:

https://www.geobluestudents.com and enter UNC’s group access code (SKN-627) in the

“Students and Plan Members” section along the right sidebar. Follow the prompt to enroll

yourself and any dependent family members in the plan under “new” enrollment. GeoBlue

accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards. Scholars can enroll before

arrival to U.S.

2. Student Blue: The Mandatory Student Health Insurance plan offered through Student Blue

meets the requirements. This plan is available only to enrolled students.

3. Student Blue RA/TA: The plan offered to Graduate Student Research Assistants and Teaching

Assistants meets the requirements.

4. Blue Option Post Doc Insurance Plan: available for those classified as a Postdoc Research

Associate or Postdoc Research Trainee temporary full-time UNC employee. Coverage under this

plan does not begin until the second month of your appointment. Therefore, Postdoctoral

Scholars will need to purchase additional insurance coverage for the first month in the U.S. For

this we recommend purchasing one month of coverage through GeoBlue.

Please note: The State Health Plan of North Carolina for UNC employees does NOT meet the

Department of State requirements for participants in the J Exchange Visitor Program due to its high

deductibles and lack of coverage for medical evacuation or repatriation of remains. J-1 employees

covered under the North Carolina State Health Plan must purchase additional coverage in order to be in

compliance with the J-1 regulations. More information on medical evacuation and repatriation plans is

available at ISSS.

What if I already have insurance?

If you have purchased another insurance plan, you must have the insurance company complete and sign

the Insurance Certification

on their company letterhead and return it to ISSS as proof of compliance

with the regulations. Only policies that meet or exceed the Department of State’s requirements will be

accepted (see attached Code of Federal Regulations). An electronic version of the Insurance

Certification is available at:

https://isss.unc.edu/files/2017/02/Insurance-Certification.pdf.

Note Regarding Pre-Existing Conditions:

The University has determined the current industry standard for pre-existing conditions to be 6 months

or less. If you have coverage from a source that is not an approved UNC plan, the policy must cover pre-

existing conditions and have a waiting period for such conditions that does not exceed 6 months.

INKS:

1) GeoBlue brochure: https://isss.unc.edu/files/2017/08/GeoBlue-Member-Guide-2019_20.pdf

2) Student Blue brochure:

http://studentbluenc.com/assets/studentblue/pdfs/uncch/uncch_2019_2020_student_blue_br

ochure.pdf

3) Student Blue RA/TA brochure: http://studentbluenc.com/assets/studentblue/pdfs/uncch-

ta/uncch-ta_2019_2020_medical_benefit_summary.pdf

4) Blue Option Postdoc Insurance Plan: http://studentbluenc.com/assets/studentblue/pdfs/uncch-

pd/uncch-pd_2019_2020_medical_benefit_summary.pdf

Revised 7/2019