U.S. federal government regulations require all J-1 and J-2 exchange visitors to have sufficient health insurance for the entire duration of the J-1 program. For enrolled students at the University of Florida, insurance verification is managed by the UF Student Health Care Center's (SHCC) Health Compliance Office.  

It is the responsibility of the J-1 student to ensure they always maintain proper health insurance for themselves and any J-2 dependents (if applicable) within the program start and end dates stated on Form DS-2019. This is required even for active J-1 or J-2 visa holders outside of the United States. 

This page will outline health insurance options for you and your J-2 dependents. Please review this entire page carefully.  

If you have J-2 dependents, please also keep in mind: 

  • You must enroll them in coverage; they are not automatically added when you enroll yourself. 
  • You must email the proof of coverage for your J-2 dependent(s) to EVS (evs@ufic.ufl.edu).  
  • It may take a few weeks for J2 dependents to be covered by UF UnitedHealthcare or UF GatorGradCare once enrolled.
    • To comply with federal regulations, you must purchase one month of private health insurance (e.g. IMG Patriot Plan) to submit as part of your EVS Check-In. 

 

Health Insurance Plans 

UnitedHealthcare Insurance 

  • You will be enrolled in this plan automatically if you don't make another selection.  
  • UF is not permitted to charge or bill your student account for any J2 dependents using UF UnitedHealthcare.
    • Thus, in order to add your J-2 dependents (if applicable), you must contact the insurance representative Kim Wood directly at Kim.Wood@hubinternational.com.  
  • The UnitedHealthcare insurance plan meets all UF and federal coverage requirements for J-1 and J-2 visa holders.  

UF GatorGradCare  

  • If you are a UF graduate assistant, teaching assistant, or research assistant (GA) who works 10 hours a week or more (.25 FTE), you may participate in the GatorGradCare health insurance plan.  
  • Enrollment in GatorGradCare is not automatic and must be completed within 60 days from hire.  
  • In order to add your J-2 dependents (if applicable), you must elect dependent coverage manually for each desired plan after the dependents are added to your file.  
    • If your dependents do not have Social Security numbers, please contact GA Benefits to add them.  
  • Even if you are eligible for GatorGradCare, you still must make this selection in order to prevent being automatically enrolled in UnitedHealthcare. Please see the instructions provided by the UF Health Compliance Office here. 
  •  The GatorGradCare plan meets all UF and federal coverage requirements for J-1 and J-2 visa holders.  

Other Health Insurance Plans 

  • If you have a different plan, you must submit an insurance waiver to the UF Health Compliance office before the deadline.  
    • If you do not opt out by providing documentation of accepted health insurance, you will automatically be enrolled in UnitedHealthcare. 
  • Please visit the UF Health Compliance Office for more information about coverage requirements.  
  • EVS oversees health insurance for J-2 dependents, not the UF Health Compliance Office.  
    • You may choose to enroll yourself in UnitedHealthcare or GatorGradCare (if applicable) and separately enroll your J-2 dependents in an external option. 
    • If you do so, their coverage will need to meet EVS and federal minimum requirements. See this page for more information. Please note that J-1 student coverage requirements are higher than those of J-2 dependents.  

 

Fulbright Students will be automatically enrolled in the school-sponsored plan (UnitedHealthcare) as your Fulbright insurance does not meet UF’s requirements.