Health Services & Insurance

Health Services

Each country will have health services available to you, but services will vary depending upon your destination. For semester-long study abroad, your program provider will have information for you regarding recommended health facilities, many may be on campus. Regardless, they will help you navigate the health care system.

On TREK programs your faculty directly will be able to assist you in the event that you need medical care, but you must create an account on the GEO Blue website immediately after receiving notification of enrollment. Before leaving, investigate the services available to you in each location. If you have questions or concerns related to a specific medical issue, visit your doctor to seek medical advice. It also is helpful to share your needs or concerns with the faculty leader and GEO.

Insurance

All study abroad students are enrolled in either their program provider’s health insurance or, for TREK participants, in GeoBlue International Healthcare coverage. In either case, a student’s international travel insurance will be comprehensive and provide benefits for travelers experiencing a medical issue while abroad. In most cases these policies do cover pre-existing conditions or episodic health issues such as anxiety or depression. If deemed medically appropriate by medical authorities, medical evacuation would be covered. Policies also cover repatriation of remains to the student’s home country.

Learn more about GeoBlue coverage on their website and be sure to download their mobile app after enrollment. The mobile app will help you locate doctors and hospitals anywhere in the world, provides access to unlimited telemedicine visits, provides medicine equivalents, alerts you to local security and health issues and more. Plus, GeoBlue’s in-house medical assistance team is always just a click or call away, 24/7/365.

In some cases, local facilities will accept your international health insurance and provide care without reimbursement at the time – particularly large hospitals in metropolitan areas. That said, GEO does expect students to carry a credit card with them to be used only in the event of an emergency. Share this expectation with your family so that together you can arrange for this preventive measure.