Discovering the U.S.

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Health

The following is a brief introduction to the U.S. medical system. U.S. medical facilities are not

government owned and individual doctors’ practices are privately owned businesses.

Choosing a Doctor

Because each doctor maintains his/her own private practice, a primary care doctor decides on

an individual basis which health insurance plans they accept as payment for treatment. Your

employer or health insurance provider can supply a list of local doctors who accept your health

plan. Once you have a list of doctors, you will need to call the office and ask if the doctor is

accepting new patients and whether or not your health insurance is accepted.

Once you verify that the doctor is taking new patients and accepts your insurance, you may visit

the office so that the doctor can conduct an examination and discuss your general health. This

is usually known as a “well visit” and is aimed at checking your general health and providing the

doctor with background information that could be helpful for treating you in the future.

Visiting the Doctor

Once you have chosen and met with a primary care doctor for your initial well visit, you can call

the office whenever you are sick. An appointment time will be made for you based upon the

perceived severity of the medical issue and according to your schedule and the doctor’s

availability. In the U.S., doctors do not come to your home. When visiting a doctor, you will

always be asked about your health insurance. For this reason, it is wise to carry your health

insurance card with you.

Your health insurance plan may require a “co-pay” for visits to the doctor, which means that you

are responsible for a portion of the payment. This co-pay is typically a flat fee that is the same

each time. Most doctors’ offices require your co-pay at the time of the visit.

Vaccinations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/Center for Disease Control and

prevention (CDC) requires certain vaccinations to be updated before a visa is issued. These

vaccinations include mumps, measles, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria, pertussis, haemophilus

influenza type B, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, varicella,

pneumococcal disease, and the seasonal influenza.

Insurance

It is likely that you and your family are eligible for a specific health insurance plan through your

employer. You may be given a large amount of material to read, be asked to make some

choices, and find it confusing and even overwhelming. Do not worry; this is how most people

feel about medical insurance plans, even those who have always lived in the U.S.