health insurance, medicaid, obamacare, aca ... as K1 (non)immigrant

[jakeblades 0]

dear visajourney community.

i write to you in great confusion

for a long time i have been a silent reading participant of this community but at this point i feel lost in my process and require some specific informations and i hope there is help somewhere to be found in all this accumulated knowledge

so. i am a newlywed (may2015) from germany, living with my us citizen wife in washington state.

currently i am in the process of AOS, AP and EAD.

in the affidavit of support documents that i filed with my case, my sponsor had to sign off for making sure i dont turn in to a problem of the us welfare system.

my wife is a student, living off of student loans receiving medicaid (in washington: apple care).

as far as my understanding of medicaid goes - it is to be considered welfare. as in - i do not qualify for it.

does she lose her right to receive medicaid after she got married to me?

or if she doesnt - am i able to insure myself via medicaid?

if she loses her eligibility - what does that mean for us? where do we turn to for counseling / with our questions? which health insurance would make sense for us between now (in the process of AOS) and me having a potential job / employer who provides health insurance for me and her?

im sure im not the first person who has to address this issue so im wondering - which insurances did you go with? what is sensible and whats not?

i feel a little lost in this whole system because obviously i dont want to do anything unlawful by trying to file for the taxrebates through obamacare or even medicaid. obviously at this point im not really paying into the system, because i dont have a job.

i need to be insured because i do enjoy my extremesports and i dont want to get in a situation that gets me screwed.

whos got ideas and is ready to help me sort through this, got tips, tricks and explanations

thank you a whole lot in advance.

hi from yakima,WA.

jakeblades

[Boiler 43,423]

Her eligibility will depend on your income, she can update her situation and find out.

You can apply for Obamacare as it sounds you do not have another option through work. You will have to pay for it but may get a tax break.

[jakeblades 0]

as far as the information we got goes - i can not go on medicaid and i also cant go through the marketplace to buy insurance because we missed the 60 days within our marriage to add me to the marketplace account.

so basically at this point she can stay on apple care / medicaid and i have to privately insure myself.

do i understand that correctly?

and also - how would i go about finding a short term insurance? any recommendations?

[Boiler 43,423]

Your eligibility started with AOS filing not marriage.

Impossible to say if she is still eligible for Apple Care, certainly something she needs to check.

[jakeblades 0]

according to the applecare hotline she is still eligible for medicaid because there is no income to this household.

obviously i cant work without a permit so theres no income since she lives on student loans.

im not sure i understand the my eligibility part correctly.

they told me on the hotline that she cant add me to the account because the life changing event (which would have allowed it) - our marriage - is too far back (more than 60 days) so we have to wait for the normal enrollment period (november through january). filing for status is not a life changing event according to the guy on the hotline.

so im basically trying to figure out a good way to find myself a private insurance. google gives me all these companies that drop annoying 10 phonecalls a day on you and try to sell you something.

what are names of insurance companies i should look for to get insured?

[Boiler 43,423]

Being married does not make you eligible, filing for PR status does.

You got duff information, happens.

[LionessDeon 2,060]

What is this "marketplace account"? I haven't heard of that before.

I have heard of the requirement of a life changing event being necessary to add another person onto your health care policy outside of open enrollment...such as birth of a child, adoption, marriage etc. So yes if you were calling to add yourself to some existing healthcare policy your wife currently has the date of marriage would come into play.

Edited July 28, 2015 by LionessDeon

[DaveNot 55]

I'm in exactly the same situation. I have been advised to apply for medicade, be refused and that then opens the doors too using the marketplace. Also, the marriage information is on the healthcare webpage. So, it can be confusing. I'm actually in the process bow of filling out Medicare forms (IT DOES NOT AFFECT YOU AOS AND YOU WILL NOT BE A PUBLIC CHARGE). This is what I read and also sought advise through the marketplace. You can search on their webpage and book an appointment to see a consultant that will advise you on your circumstances IN PERSON. This is the information I got from them directly and it will be considered as income based yet again. I have not completely gone through the process, but I'll keep you informed.

[yuna628 9,527]

Employee is wrong. Find a new employee to speak with or a supervisor. By the way, in the federal law there is actually a provision which stipulates that if any health care employee prevents you from obtaining health insurance under the mandate which is your right to obtain, you can actually obtain it through the federal plan under the misinformation clause. https://www.healthcare.gov/sep-list/

Lawful presence is covered under Washington state. http://wahbexchange.org/files/7714/0425/2642/Document_Verification_FAQs_FINAL_140623.pdf

For an overview of what the federal law states (which all states must comply if they create an exchange) follow the link in my signature and read up further there.

Dave: there is honestly no reason to go through what you're going through and doing. Whomever told you this is... well.. doing a disservice to you.

Edited July 28, 2015 by yuna628

[DaveNot 55]

Oh, to see a consultant is free and you do not need to pay.

[jakeblades 0]

what i basically did is i signed up for a short term insurance with a high deductible so its pretty cheap. its only good for a maximum of 6 months and obviously hopefully nothing happens because im sure it would be a hassle to figure it out with them, but it covers until the next enrollment period and then you can just get on the normal insurance plans.

as far as my information goes from today - you can apply for medicaid (not medicare!! thats where i get confused with dave here ) after 5 years of being a permanent resident.

the marketplace you can use immediately which gets you the discounts from the affordable care act. i think. and hope

obviously you have to meet the requirements for obamacare to receive the benefits.

still not sure what boiler is trying to tell me.

[Boiler 43,423]

One of the enrollment option starts when you have notice of you application to adjust status.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Your National or lawful presence changed :

Entry VISA Number, I-551 Alien Number, I-94 Card Number, INS Notice Receipt Number, Passport Number, Permanent Resident Card with Photograph (form I-151)

A change that is eligible for enrollment is receiving the NOA (Notice of Action, Notice Receipt Number) so yes you are eligible for enrollment.

More on immigrant eligibility : https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/documentation/ (I-797 is the Notice of Action) you received for your

AOS processing (NOA1 and NOA2).

[TBoneTX 43,040]

*** Thread moved from AOS/Family-Based main forum to the "Moving to the US" forum, where similar issues are often discussed. ***

[barbara360 6]

My husband moved here 2 years ago on a marriage visa and it is too expensive to add him to my work insurance. We found a medical center that charges you based on your household inccome and they also help you to fill out all the proper paper work. When we went he did not qualify for any of the medicare,obamacare since he was a new permanent resident so I just showed my last 3 weeks of check stubs and he received a full exam, bloodwork and even an inhaler for his asthema and we paid $20. I know you are not in Chicago but maybe you can find a place similar where you live. This is the link to where we go:

http://www.eriefamilyhealth.org/