What is the best health insurance plan for a student studying abroad?

A friend and his wife just returned from three weeks in Italy. Your daughter is going to have a wonderful time. I don’t have a specific recommendation, but I do have a few thoughts:
1.Does her school in the States have a student health plan she can get and will it extend some sort of coverage in Italy? Does the program or school in Italy have insurance she can buy? These plans are probably the least expensive route since they will be group health plans, which are usually less expensive than individual health insurance.
2.Ask people at her school – especially people who have gone through the same study abroad program and find out what they did for insurance. It’ll be interesting anyway because it will give your daughter a better sense of what to expect apart from such practical matters.
3.Short-term insurance: It doesn’t offer the same range of benefits as longer-term insurance and typically lasts from a month to six months, although you can find short-term policies that last for a year. Short-term plans usually help pay for: hospital stay, ambulatory services, lab exams, x-rays, prescriptions. Short-term typically doesn’t cover dental care, preventive exams, pregnancy, and can be difficult to find when abroad, but plans do exist.
4.Travel Insurance: Probably won’t offer the range of benefits you’d like, but it is an option.
5.Local health insurance agents: Try MostChoice.com. It offers online quotes but more importantly puts you in touch with qualified health insurance agents. You fill out a short form, review online quotes, and within 48 hours local agents will contact you. Tell them what you want and what you want to pay and let them do the rest. There’s no cost or obligation to buy anything, and it’s an easy way to find out exactly what options are available to you and your daughter.

You can visit MostChoice here: http://www.mostchoice.com/health-insurance.cfm

Very envious of your daughter and her Italian excursion,
Barnes@MostChoice