K1 Medical Insurance

[rob999 51]

Hi All,

I'm a K1 hoping for my interview letter soon so in the meantime I am getting ready for my move to the US - one question - medical insurance. My wife-to-be has a family medical insurance with her work but it looks like it's for her "spouse" rather than for her "fiance" so there will be a period of time (say a week to two weeks) where as her fiance I can't go on her medical insurance.

What have people done (and any past experiences of) for the two or so weeks between landing on US soil to the day of getting married for health insurance? Yes I could just risk it and not worry for the couple of weeks but it only takes one accident or a car crash to then have a medical bill into the thousands which suddenly makes life very depressing.

And no, I will not have any medical or travel cover from my country of origin as that requires one to be "resident" in that country.

Thanks

Rob

[yuna628 9,527]

You could try the federal exchange, but it is unlikely that this would be cost effective for you in the long run. I would say it's unlikely to have something to happen to you as long as you do nothing crazy. It's also probably unlikely to go into effect for a few weeks or longer aswell, and I'm not sure a K-1, without at least being married or starting the process to AOS is fully eligible anyway. You qualify on Obamacare special enrollment for getting married and for immigration status. The same with your fiancé/wife's insurance if you were added, so there's a waiting period either way. So my advice is, marry as soon as possible, get the AOS paperwork in, and don't do anything overly risky.

No skiing or bungee jumping for you.

Edited July 7, 2015 by yuna628

[rob999 51]

You could try the federal exchange, but it is unlikely that this would be cost effective for you in the long run. I would say it's unlikely to have something to happen to you as long as you do nothing crazy. It's also probably unlikely to go into effect for a few weeks or longer aswell, and I'm not sure a K-1, without at least being married or starting the process to AOS is fully eligible anyway. You qualify on Obamacare special enrollment for getting married and for immigration status. The same with your fiancé/wife's insurance if you were added, so there's a waiting period either way. So my advice is, marry as soon as possible, get the AOS paperwork in, and don't do anything overly risky.

No skiing or bungee jumping for you.

Good points, though I'm going to Houston where the driving is uhm questionable and I have no control of some of the more crazy drivers, it only takes one as they say! Maybe wrap myself up in bubble wrap? Would be fun rolling around at the least.

[Lee 23 5]

There are insurance plans specifically for foreign visitors traveling in the United States. Search google for 'K1 traveler Insurance.' Be careful, much of these policies may be expensive and not provide much protection. Look for a policy underwritten by one of the major medical insurance companies. Also, to keep cost down, look for a 'catastrophic insurance plan.' These are plans that will ONLY cover accidents. They are much less expensive than insurance that cover doctor visits and checkups.

As expressed by the previous post, it would not make sense to apply for full coverage for a short time. A travel policy with a high deductible, however, to cover for accidents should not be very expensive and would prevent the problem of loosing your life savings because of an accident.

[Girl from Celebes 588]

Well, my insurance I had for years while I lived in Indonesia covered if something happened to me while I traveled or stayed outside of the country. I canceled it after my husband enrolled me to TRICARE sooner after we got married. Luckily nothing bad was happened during time period of waiting from PoE to got married and enrolled to TRICARE- interval time was about 120 days-.

[rob999 51]

Thanks all for the tips, didn't think about US travel insurance so thanks for that