Hello,
A couple of quick questions. We have our K1 interview in Vancouver on the 24th. I am having my parents bring some of my stuff at a later date and I am just wondering how we do that. Do we need to submit a list of everything they will be bringing at a later date when we cross the border with a K1 and what will they need when they cross the border.

Also just wondering what other Canadians have done about health insurance when they first move to the US on a K1.

Thanks for your help!!!

Don't know about moving. But I've been living in the States 8 months without health insurance and know it's risky. My brother, who's a nurse, and ironically doesn't have health insurance, uses a discount system. It's not insurance, but an affordable membership in a program that provides discounts. Might be worth a look.

Qualified Health

your parents will need a photocopy of your visa and I-94 in order to bring any of your things across the border for you, and possibly a Customs form 3299.

I've been in the US nearly 2 years now and still do not have any health insurance. Can't afford any. I just stay away from buses and try not to get sick

Just curious, how come you guys don't have health insurance? Do you or your husbands work? Every job I ever worked at in the U.S. offered benefits after 90 days of employment.

Just because they offer it doesn't mean you can afford to take it. My husbands work offers health insurance but for a family plan, to cover him and me it'd cost him 1/4 of his monthly take home. Something we can absolutely not afford.

Hope this helps to enlighten.

My husband doesn't have health insurance either. He's self-employed.

we both work in fast food. He gets benefits because he's a salaried manager, I don't because I'm a part time hourly employee. To add me to his plan would be about $250 per month for basic coverage. I barely make that much in a month. My paycheque today was only $115 for 2 weeks

Wow, well I'm a little stunned. The stats say that 85%-90% of people in America have some form of health insurance, and most of the other 10-15% are illegals and their families, and unemployed Americans. And as I said before, I know that most jobs offer benefits after 90 days.

Well...in our case, I am the one employed but my husband wasn't eligible to be on my health insurance until we were married, he entered on a K-1. I'm thinking, in reading the OP's statement, the OP is going to be entering on a K-1 which means no job and if the intended spouse IS working then they can't add a spouse until a marriage has occured. My job offered benefits upon employment....the day of employment....but like I said my husband had to wait til we were married...I think that's the position of the OP.

As for any advice to the OP: Just hope and pray you don't get really sick or injured.

not around where I live. Unless you work for some branch of government, most people around here don't have insurance, and most employers don't offer it anymore (and a lot recently have recinded benefits,) because even they can't afford to subsidise it.

Acording to a 2004 US census, only 84% have health insurance. I'd hazard a guess that a lot of those are working *only* to pay the premiums. That percentage has maybe even gone down in the past 2 years, because as I mentioned, a lot of employers are no longer offering subsidised benefits. Now people are likely un-insured, or under-insured and their plans only cover basic doctor visits.

health insurance costs in this country are totally out of hand. When more than 15% of the population can't afford insurance, that's pretty bad IMO.

I agree, costs are definitely out of hand. I think we can thank all the sue-happy people for that.

Reba, does it make you want to move back to Canada? I must admit, reading this thread has me a bit worried now. Our goal in life is to own our own business, but if health insurance is that expensive WITH an employer, I can't imagine what it must cost withOUT one. I don't like the idea of socialized medicine, but at least you know you're never going to go bankrupt due to an illness or injury.

yep, at some point we would like to move to Canada. However the paperwork is a bit too daunting for us at the mo, so it'll be a few years before it happens.

There's nothing wrong with "socialized" medicine per se. I honestly do not understand how the US, the richest country on the planet, can justify the high cost of health care here. Even with health insurance, if you're hospitalized for any reason, you can still end up having to fork out several thousands of dollars.

In the state of North Carolina, my tax burden is about the same as it was back home in Ontario, but I have no social programmes to benefit from.

fyi. the US spends 3x as much on health administrative costs as Canada. But I guess talking about greedy administrators and insurance companies isn't as much fun as lawyer bashing.

Most of my friends don't have insurance or have insurance that is basically worthless-max annual payout $5000. That'll cover basic routine stuff, but we just hope that nothing serious happens. Even a fairly minor car accident would cost more than that. Eventually we know that we're going to have to choose between jobs that we love-park rangers, scientific research, and NGOs-and taking a less enjoyable job that has benefits.

Good luck in finding a job with benefits and just don't think about US health care it's too depressing.

A few months ago, someone posted in "moving to America" some links to immigrant insurance he had purchased. When Ilooked at them, they didn't seem very expensive. They are all short term of course. I am only looking for something for the 3 months of the K-1 visa. After that, I will get onto his company plan. or if he quits, then we will just both be screwed for a while.

I don't suppose we can get regular travel insurance for a K-1 visa? I would ideally like to continue my work plan for those 3 months, but I am not sure I can sicne I am not technically just traveling.

I don't know- I plan on paying for insurance down in the states(and anything I need that is not covered.)- but-----when around here in Canada, most people don't have a family Dr. and if you need a referral plan to wait 3-6 months. Routine things like immunizations and most dr's letters etc are now coming along with a fee. The hospitals are short staffed leaving outragous waiting times in the ER... I was just there for minor stiches and waited 5 hours... I would not mind paying for health care-- probably means you GET it. If you need specialized treatment you pay for it anyway... mental health, addiction facilities, councelling, the list goes on and on. I will have insurance and be happy to get what I can pay for - there are places here in Ontario where people are paying to belong to a "clinic" monthly to have the use of a MD, specialists and acess to care when they need it with no waits. The US health care system does not sound too bad to me!

don't expect any of that to change-the wait times that you give seem pretty close to what I observed working my way through undergrad in a hospital. direct comparisons of US and Canadian health care are really complex-there are areas where each country clearly outshines the other, the US is better at high-tech and cutting edge medicine but really sucks at basic preventative care. On the whole I've never seen an unbiased review that says one system is much better than the other as far as the care goes. However, the US spends 50% more per person on health care. And the increased cost per person is counting everyone, even the 15-20% of Americans who don't have insurance and therefore very rarely use the system. Most Americans (and I was in this group before I really studied the health care system) are clinging to our ineffective, expensive system because of very clever misinformation campaigns, mostly backed by insurance companies.
So welcome to the US, if you're lucky you'll end up with roughly the same level of care as you got in Canada but you get to pay more for it.

that depends on where in the US you are really. Some cities will have long wait times in ERs or for specialist appointments, and the cost is absolutely phenomenal, even with insurance! And if you don't pay according to plan; say you go to ER with a broken leg, your insurance covers 50% if you're lucky, and the rest the hospital arranges a "payment" plan for you. If you're half a day late, expect a call from a collection agency. That 50% that you have to pay could be $1000 or more, depending on the hospital (if its a teaching hospital, holy cats, it could be 3 times that )

My husband has had cancer, and had to sell his house to pay the bills. Insurance does not cover everything, and runs out before most treatments are completed. And not just for cancer, but pretty much anything that requires long term care. Insurance will cover a maximum $ amount, and after that, its all out of pocket.

Now he's got rhumatoid arthritis and has to see his doctor on a monthly basis, and waits in the office for about 6 to 8 hours every fricken time and gods forbid if the doctor wants him to go for more x-rays or MRIs or whatever. Its such a pain in the ###.

Not to mention of course that when he had cancer, his oncologists here in North Carolina were recommending that he go see a specialist in Toronto! Which is insurance wouldn't have paid for of course. Luckily he went into remission and didn't have to do that. He didn't have another house to sell.

Paying for health care in the US scared me so much with my pre-existing conditions that I told Jerry I wouldn't be able to move to the US if he didn't have insurance that would cover me. We are extremely fortunate in that he (and now myself) have had jobs that provided excellent health insurance -- there are many that do not.

My job in collections has exposed me to a wide variety of people that have gotten behind in their payments due to unexpected medical expenses, it's scary to see how quickly it pushes people into major debt. My sister in law had to be hospitalized for a month due to complications with her most recent pregnancy -- even with a good health insurance plan, it took them 2 years to finish paying their share of the hospital bills. I am not saying Canada's health care system is perfect -- far from it! -- but at least people aren't afraid to go to the doctor there because of the possible monetary cost.