All international students or scholars (both F-1 and J-1 visa) are required to carry health insurance during their program at Michigan State University. Health insurance is a matter of compliance with U.S. visa regulations. MSU requires all international students/scholars AND their accompanying family members to purchase MSU Health Insurance provided by Aetna Health Plan (AHP).
It is your responsibility to have health insurance to protect yourself and your family and avoid unmanageable high costs should you or a member of your family fall ill during your time in the U.S. Carefully review the information below and in the PDF document to learn about your options, and steps to take before arriving at MSU. VIPP staff will assist you should you have any need.
1. Before you arrive in the U.S. you must make a decision on your health insurance choice, sign this form, and send it to us: VIPP Health Insurance Information (PDF).
2. You must fill out the Health Insurance Enrollment form through AHP: https://msu.myahpcare.com/
Once you choose one coverage method, you must stick with it for the whole program period.
Semester Coverage
Once accepted by VIPP, you will be given an MSU student account (log in at www.stuinfo.msu.edu). The AHP health insurance premium will be automatically charged to your MSU account based on the length of your stay. You can simply pay the charges if you choose this option as your health insurance coverage. The rates for international visiting students can be found on the MSU Human Resources website and in the table below:
*Available to Spring semester students new to MSU.
**Available to Summer semester students only.
Daily Coverage
If your program dates do not correlate to the coverage period listed in the semester coverage above, you may consider purchasing AHP daily health insurance to save some cost. The daily health insurance policy must cover the actual period of your stay in the U.S. from the arrival date to the departure date. The daily cost is $8 per day per person. Based on $8 daily rate per person, your monthly MSU AHP Insurance cost will be:
a. Participant only: $248
b. Participant + Spouse/Domestic Partner: $496
c. Participant + Spouse/Domestic Partner + One Child: $744
d. Scholar + Spouse/Dom. Partner + Two or More Children: $930
Note: Once you choose the daily insurance you cannot switch back to the fixed-term student rate. Once you choose one coverage method, you must stay with it for the whole program period.
Health care providers (doctors, clinics, etc.) can be located on the AHP website at msu.myahpcare.com
More information about the MSU Health Insurance policy can be found at the MSU Human Resources website:
https://www.hr.msu.edu/benefits/students/health
Benefit Highlights:
https://www.aetnastudenthealth.com/schools/msu/sbc2425.pdf
Membership Guidelines:
https://www.aetnastudenthealth.com/schools/msu/pdbs2425.pdf
If you need help beyond the information provided here, you can send an email to the OISS health team at .
The video below shows international students how to prepare for their arrival in the US, how the US healthcare system works, and how students should seek medical care appropriately if they become sick or injured:
http://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/explained/us-healthcare-system-video.php
Have Other Questions?
Please contact MSU’s Human Resources Solutions Center:
VIPP 2025 Global Virtual Winter School
Bolashak Program
VIPP Strategic Plan
Bold Goals Toward 2030
VIPP Program Brochure
