Health insurance
Health insurance requirement
As an exchange visitor or international student, you and your dependents must have:
- Health insurance coverage for your entire program period.
- Medical evacuation and repatriation coverage.
This is to protect you in case you become sick or injured. Please check out the following information flyers to better understand the health insurance requirements for:
How do I get the required health insurance coverage?
All F-1 and J-1 international students and scholars whose 1-20 or DS-2019 was issued by Wayne State University must enroll in the WSU Student/Scholar Health Insurance plan (IHIP) provided by Relation Insurance Services. This insurance plan is also required for your F-1, F-2, J-1 and J-2 dependents. This includes Canadian F-1 students living in the U.S. and J-1 Canadian students and scholars.
You can buy insurance on either a semester or annual basis and pay online with a Visa or MasterCard when you enroll. The annual policy coverage year runs from August 1 to July 31, so make sure to renew your insurance in time to retain your coverage.
The Health Insurance Advocate located within the Office of International Students and Scholars is responsible for processing all International Health Insurance enrollment applications and can also be contacted via e-mail at oissinsurance@wayne.edu.
How do I get the required medical evacuation and repatriation coverage?
WSU requires repatriation and medical evacuation coverage for all international students and scholars, except for commuting Canadian students.
The annual cost for the 2022-2023 year is $13.80. The cost of the plan for all F-1 students holding a Wayne State University fellowship or Graduate Assistantship (GRA/GSA/GTA) will be covered by OISS.
To ensure your and your dependent's repatriation coverage please complete the online enrollment at: https://4studenthealth.relationinsurance.com/plan/medical-evacuation-repatriation-2022-2023-11145/. After completing the purchase, email your enrollment receipt to oissinsurance@wayne.edu.
To purchase repatriation insurance:
- Go to https://4studenthealth.relationinsurance.com/plan/medical-evacuation-repatriation-2022-2023-11145/
- Click Enroll
- Click Start Enrollment
- Click your agreement with enrollment information
- Follow the prompts to complete the purchase.
Please note: The repatriation and medical evacuation coverage is required to be renewed annually along with your health insurance.
What is a Health Insurance Hold?
Each semester (fall, winter and spring/summer) we place a Health Insurance Hold on all international students' records. As soon as you purchase health insurance through Relation Insurance Services or show proof of insurance issued through WSU, the hold is released.
A Health Insurance Hold could potentially result in your being out of status. If you are a J-1 exchange visitor who doesn't purchase health insurance for yourself and/or your family, you will be terminated from the Wayne State Exchange Visitor Program.
Exceptions to IHIP requirement
School of Medicine students
All international students (including Canadians) in the WSU School of Medicine must purchase either the IHI student plan or the medical school's comprehensive group health plan.
Commuting Canadian F-1 students (not in the School of Medicine)
F-1 Canadian students living in Canada and commuting to the U.S. daily for classes can opt out of the university's IHIP, but you can purchase it as a supplement to your Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) if desired. The Ontario Ministry of Health strongly recommends that commuting Canadians purchase supplementary insurance because of limited benefits that OHIP provides to foreign health care providers.
If you want to opt out of the university's IHIP, you must complete the Commuting Canadian Health Insurance Waiver form.
Still have health insurance questions?
Health insurance is a serious matter, and we want to ensure you have what you need to remain healthy and in status so you can focus on your academic work. Our Health Insurance Advocate is here to help, so email your questions to oissinsurance@wayne.edu.