J-1 Sponsored Health Insurance P-Card Payment Procedures & Enrollment Tips

IU has approximately 500 visitors on J-1 visa type per year, primarily on the BL and IUI campuses. Some subsets of these J-1 visitors are financially sponsored by an IU unit, so the department typically pays University Health Plans (UHP) for health insurance for these sponsored individuals. Purchasing allows P-Card payment to UHP through their online portal for IU sponsored J-1 enrollment.

P-Card Payment Procedures

Departments seeking to use the P-Card for payments to UHP will submit a Support Form (choose topic “Exception Request) at least 24 hours in advance of the initial transaction date. The P-Card administrator will lift the MCCG25* merchant restriction on the Insurance category to facilitate ongoing payments.

*You may request a permanent lift of this restriction if you will be using the P-Card to purchase UHP insurance on a recurring basis.

The following information is required to set up the P-Card for insurance payments at US Bank:

• P-Card Name
• Last four digits of the 16 digit card number
• Request to lift the MCCG25 merchant code
• Reference this procedure with the request

Chrome River Reconciliation:

• Map to the Insurance mosaic (object code 5039) when reconciling the expense in Chrome River.
• Attach the UHP Audit Record form to the appropriate Chrome River P-Card Reconciliation Expense Report.

Enrollment Tips from the IU International Offices

Administered by:

Bloomington and regionals: Office of International Services (OIS), Ferguson International Center, 330 N Eagleson Ave, Bloomington, IN, ois@iu.edu 
IUI: Office of International Affairs (OIA), Education and Social Work 2126, jscholar@iupui.edu 

U.S. law requires that all J scholars and dependent family members have health insurance for the duration of the program. They are permitted to enter the U.S. up to 30 days ahead of the start date on the DS-2019 and depart 30 days after the end date, but they are required to have insurance for their entire stay in the U.S.

The best practice is to contact OIS/OIA prior to the scholar’s arrival to verify coverage dates and complete enrollment. Per Anthem policy, purchases can be made retroactively, but no more than 30 days after the requested effective start date for the plan, which should match the scholar's US entry date. University funds should not be used to purchase insurance for days outside of the DS-2019 dates. If a department determines that an exception to that rule is in the best interest of the university, both the official visit dates and paid health insurance coverage dates should be documented in IU’s invitation letter to the visitor for audit trail substantiation.

Enrollment is handled by University Health Plans (UHP), and the online application is located here.

1. Enter the scholar’s first name and last name as they appear in the scholar’s passport, IU university ID, and date of birth (xx/xx/xxxx).
2. The 2024-2025 enrollment or pass code is "2425". This code will change at the beginning of every academic year.
3. Click Continue.
4. Step 1: Choose “Scholar Only” for the type of plan.
   1. Scholars with dependents will not be able to enroll them online after the host department completes the purchase. Dependents must be added at the same time as the scholar or through a separate process. Scholars should contact the international office for assistance.
5. Step 2: Enter the coverage start date and coverage end date.
   1. Coverage is provided by semester or at a custom daily rate.
   2. The coverage start date should match the DS-2019 start date, and requests for retroactive coverage must be made within 30 days of the requested start date. Scholars who enter the US prior to the DS-2019 start date must purchase separate coverage for those days.
   3. The coverage end date should be the day the scholar plans to depart the US or the DS-2019 end date, whichever comes first. Scholars must purchase coverage for any days they remain in the US beyond the DS-2019 end date.
   4. Coverage cannot be purchased beyond 7/31 until a new application for the next academic year is available.
6. For Student Information, the host department must have the scholar’s:
   1. Local/Campus Address (“home address”).
   2. IU Email Address (“email address”).
   3. Gender.
7. Bypass Dependent Information by clicking Continue.
8. Enter Payment Information.
9. The international office requires the receipt/confirmation of payments by email from the host department (or the scholar) to record the scholar’s enrollment in health insurance.

It is the J-1 visa holder’s responsibility to show proof of health insurance to his or her campus international office. This may be handled by walk-in to the international office or electronically. If a department is enrolling a large group of visitors, it may create some efficiencies if you communicate this directly to the international office by sending a list of 10-digit-IDs, and dates of enrollment.

The departmental P-Card purchase is for the J-1 scholar only. University funds should not be used to pay for dependent enrollment. Note that the departmental transaction must be done first before the scholar can pay out-of-pocket for dependent enrollment.

The plan year ends July 31 each year. The online application for the new academic year, beginning August 1, is typically available in mid-July. For the one-month overlap period, there may be two active enrollment applications. Departments need to remember to pay for subsequent years for scholars who are here beyond the July 31 plan expiration. Departments will also need to make two purchases for scholars arriving for fall who arrive before August 1.

If the insurance is purchased and for some reason the scholar does not come, Office of International Services / Office of International Affairs (IUI) can make an exception request for a refund. Refunds are issued by check.

Tax Implications of UHP P-Card payments

It is expected that in most cases the J-1 visitors for whom a department wishes to pay directly for health insurance will be traveling primarily on IU business; therefore, the insurance payment should be considered a valid Accountable Plan expense [thus not taxable to the individual non-resident alien]. In situations where a department uses this P-Card procedure to purchase insurance for a non-resident alien whose expenses do not qualify under accountable plan rules, please contact University Tax Services to discuss withholding requirements.