Doctor visits are something most people dread and dealing with someone else’s child and insurance is extra stressful. We have had to take 4 out of our 5 students to the doctor at some point, actually a couple times each. So I do have a little experience in this and it is frustrating.
Your student should come with some type of health insurance. It might not be great insurance and it might not be taken everywhere but it is there. When you take your student to the doctor or clinic make sure to have a copy of their insurance information, their passport, and something from your organization stating that you have custodial custody (thus permission to take them to the doctor). Sometimes their insurance will have the student pay up front and they will need to send in receipts to get reimbursed, so keep them in safe spot (or send a digital copy to mom/dad asap); also let mom/dad know you are going to the doctor ahead of time (or on the way) if possible so that there is money in the student’s account.
It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the insurance and steps to take if there is a need to visit a doctor or if there is an emergency. If they have a policy that is not with the exchange organization see if there is an English version of their insurance or have mom/dad explain it to you so you know what to expect and are not caught off guard, like we were when our German student’s insurance was only in German (who we had to take to the doctor her first week with us for an ear infection). Understand what is covered and what is not and explain this to your student and how much things will cost—because most students come from a country with free healthcare so they tend to get sticker shock from medical costs (or they have just never thought about the cost because they are teenagers).
During the visit I always ask if the student wants me to come back or not, privacy and all. Every time they have asked me to come with them, I think it helps having someone to help with the English terms and emotional support.
Also, fun fact: a lot of students are coming on exchange as their wisdom teeth become a problem for them. We had to have a student have oral surgery because her wisdom teeth were coming in and two of them were impacted and starting to get infected. So we had a crash course on what the insurance would cover for that. Luckily her surgeon took pity on her and gave her a heavy discount because he had to pay all out of pocket (she was reimbursed some).
So that is doctor/dental visits. Hope you never have to take them (except for maybe a school/sports physical) but it is good to be prepared on what to expect and information to have on hand.
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