Health Insurance

[Diane and Chris 651]

My fiancés K-1 was approved yesterday. He will be coming to the US in about 3 weeks. I would like any advice on obtaining health insurance for him. I have insurance through the VA so can't add him to my plan. Thanks so much. 

[Becci391 339]

You or he might have to pay for his own health care insurance.

I have my own because my husband and I couldn't afford to pay $700/month for the both of us if he would have added me to his insurance. But that will all change when I have a job.

[Diane and Chris 651]

Where did you shop for insurance?  About how much is the monthly premium?  Thanks. 

[f f 725]

it varies based on age gender and location. but expect to spend around 300-400 for a silver range plan. also he does not need a ssn to get health insurance they just like to ask for it but it is not required. he will have a special enrollment window when he arrives since he will be moving to the us. as well as another window when you two marry. if you miss these two he will have to wait till he gets his greencard or open enrollment in November if aca lasts that long.

 

thank you for looking into this now and not when a major medical expense is coming.

[s + j 71]

I am going to be getting inbound immigrant insurance soon Maybe that's something to look into yeah?

[yuna628 9,528]

31 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

My fiancés K-1 was approved yesterday. He will be coming to the US in about 3 weeks. I would like any advice on obtaining health insurance for him. I have insurance through the VA so can't add him to my plan. Thanks so much. 

Is there a specific reason you believe your spouse cannot be added to your current plan?

 

Otherwise there are a few things you can explore in the way of options:

 

Buy insurance privately through any insurance company offering in your state. As for cost that really all depends on whether you have a gold, silver, or bronze plan. A plan that has a high premium in general, will have a lower deductible. The lower the premium the higher the deductible. Of course that is not the case everywhere - with rising costs most plans, regardless of the deductible, premiums are high these days. I made my private plan a joint plan for my husband. When it was just myself I was paying about $400 a month. For two of us and with rising costs, it has rocketed to $700+ per month. There are no cheaper options for us in our state - it's silver or higher. These plans in general can be purchased pretty soon after marriage.

 

Your second option would be to explore using the federal exchange (Obamacare), most of the plans you can get there though are ones you can actually purchase from the insurer directly, and can avoid a lot of red tape. Whether you receive a cost effective discount, however, only applies in certain situations. In using O'care however, you are going to have to wait not only until after marriage but at least until you apply for AOS with EAD + AP. You'll need proof of immigration status and the earliest qualifier for that you'll have is the NOA1 for the AOS, the EAD, or the green card, whichever comes first. Immigrants are allowed to participate in O'care. If you have a state exchange you'll need to go through that before the federal. Remember - O'care is not Medicaid or Medicare, which is off limits to most immigrants for 5 years. There is a lot of uncertainity regarding insurance and the exchanges in general right now under this administration, so be aware of changes carefully. Open enrollment is over, but there are SQLE's such as marriage - so don't wait too long to act.

 

The other methods of obtaining insurance are of course the traditional route through an employer, of course a K1 cannot work until they have an EAD at the earliest, so this is not an effective option for most - unless they are confident of their health and risk. Going without insurance of course means the penalty in taxes will apply, so the clock starts ticking. That being said, the penalty per year is far cheaper than a years worth of premiums for sure, and some choose this option.

 

Finally some tips: Travel insurances, insurance marketed directly to new immigrants, temporary insurances, 'inbound immigrant insurance' -- all of these are considered subpar by the government. In effect you will still be classified as not having insurance that meets the minimum requirements for standards of care -- and that also means the penalty will still apply. Some choose to use these inbetween the ''gap'' of arriving on the plane and rolling onto an a new plan just for peace of mind. But continue to use them longer past the I94 expiry, marriage, and a long gap of not filing for AOS or choosing to do nothing about insurance while waiting for AOS... and the penalty will count against you. There are some exemptions that can be applied when filing taxes, depending on circumstances.

 

You do not need an SSN to apply for health insurance. Remember that. You will likely encounter those who will demand wrong that it is required. Request a supervisor. That being said, it is very wise to obtain the SSN as soon as possible, before marriage even (see the guide on VJ) - you'll find it a lot less hassle later on.

[Becci391 339]

4 hours ago, Diane and Chris said:

Where did you shop for insurance?  About how much is the monthly premium?  Thanks. 

I did look around on the internet and decided to go with Freedomlife Insurance Company.

My husband pays $215/month and I don't have to pay out of pocket first before the insurance covers me.

[Lemonslice 4,553]

6 minutes ago, Becci391 said:

I did look around on the internet and decided to go with Freedomlife Insurance Company.

My husband pays $215/month and I don't have to pay out of pocket first before the insurance covers me.

I have never heard of that company, do they have a website?

[Becci391 339]

Just now, Lemonslice said:

I have never heard of that company, do they have a website?

https://www.ushealthgroup.com/

 

That's the website.

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

15 hours ago, yuna628 said:

Is there a specific reason you believe your spouse cannot be added to your current plan?

 

Otherwise there are a few things you can explore in the way of options:

 

Buy insurance privately through any insurance company offering in your state. As for cost that really all depends on whether you have a gold, silver, or bronze plan. A plan that has a high premium in general, will have a lower deductible. The lower the premium the higher the deductible. Of course that is not the case everywhere - with rising costs most plans, regardless of the deductible, premiums are high these days. I made my private plan a joint plan for my husband. When it was just myself I was paying about $400 a month. For two of us and with rising costs, it has rocketed to $700+ per month. There are no cheaper options for us in our state - it's silver or higher. These plans in general can be purchased pretty soon after marriage.

 

Your second option would be to explore using the federal exchange (Obamacare), most of the plans you can get there though are ones you can actually purchase from the insurer directly, and can avoid a lot of red tape. Whether you receive a cost effective discount, however, only applies in certain situations. In using O'care however, you are going to have to wait not only until after marriage but at least until you apply for AOS with EAD + AP. You'll need proof of immigration status and the earliest qualifier for that you'll have is the NOA1 for the AOS, the EAD, or the green card, whichever comes first. Immigrants are allowed to participate in O'care. If you have a state exchange you'll need to go through that before the federal. Remember - O'care is not Medicaid or Medicare, which is off limits to most immigrants for 5 years. There is a lot of uncertainity regarding insurance and the exchanges in general right now under this administration, so be aware of changes carefully. Open enrollment is over, but there are SQLE's such as marriage - so don't wait too long to act.

 

The other methods of obtaining insurance are of course the traditional route through an employer, of course a K1 cannot work until they have an EAD at the earliest, so this is not an effective option for most - unless they are confident of their health and risk. Going without insurance of course means the penalty in taxes will apply, so the clock starts ticking. That being said, the penalty per year is far cheaper than a years worth of premiums for sure, and some choose this option.

 

Finally some tips: Travel insurances, insurance marketed directly to new immigrants, temporary insurances, 'inbound immigrant insurance' -- all of these are considered subpar by the government. In effect you will still be classified as not having insurance that meets the minimum requirements for standards of care -- and that also means the penalty will still apply. Some choose to use these inbetween the ''gap'' of arriving on the plane and rolling onto an a new plan just for peace of mind. But continue to use them longer past the I94 expiry, marriage, and a long gap of not filing for AOS or choosing to do nothing about insurance while waiting for AOS... and the penalty will count against you. There are some exemptions that can be applied when filing taxes, depending on circumstances.

 

You do not need an SSN to apply for health insurance. Remember that. You will likely encounter those who will demand wrong that it is required. Request a supervisor. That being said, it is very wise to obtain the SSN as soon as possible, before marriage even (see the guide on VJ) - you'll find it a lot less hassle later on.

The OP is using the VA or Veteran's Administration as there insurance, which every Disabled Veteran more than 30% is allowed to do. The VA offers medical for those veterans and it covers the ACA minimum. I know several people that do not have private health insurance but just use the VA to help save money. 

 

OP, what percentage are you from the VA? If you are 100% then you can put your spouse on your medical because you have ChampVA. If not a 100% then yes your spouse will have to have private health insurance. I am 90% right now and I get all my healthcare from the VA, but I still have private insurance for my family to use. 

[yuna628 9,528]

32 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

The OP is using the VA or Veteran's Administration as there insurance, which every Disabled Veteran more than 30% is allowed to do. The VA offers medical for those veterans and it covers the ACA minimum. I know several people that do not have private health insurance but just use the VA to help save money. 

 

OP, what percentage are you from the VA? If you are 100% then you can put your spouse on your medical because you have ChampVA. If not a 100% then yes your spouse will have to have private health insurance. I am 90% right now and I get all my healthcare from the VA, but I still have private insurance for my family to use. 

I was hoping a Vet with some better knowledge of the VA requirements would post so thanks for helping out.  I wasn't sure if there was some disqualifying factor on the part of the OP that the spouse couldn't use the VA insurance. I had feared perhaps they thought the spouse would simply be restricted because of immigrant status, which shouldn't be the case.

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

10 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

I was hoping a Vet with some better knowledge of the VA requirements would post so thanks for helping out.  I wasn't sure if there was some disqualifying factor on the part of the OP that the spouse couldn't use the VA insurance. I had feared perhaps they thought the spouse would simply be restricted because of immigrant status, which shouldn't be the case.

Not a problem, I am just trying to help out. Alot of us vets don't know the in and outs on things, so it is nice to get the much needed information. No, if the spouse has a SSN then they should not be restricted at all from being a dependent by the VA.

 

It's just a matter of percentages really if anyone is 30% disabled or higher then they can be seen by the VA and not have to worry about payment. But this healthcare is ONLY for the veteran and not their family. If a person is 100% disabled by the VA, then the whole family will be covered by VA for healthcare coverage. It's not the best primary healthcare out there for the family, but it's a good secondary. So for example if someone uses their private health insurance for a operation, then of course the private health insurance will cover a certain amount. Which will then leave a remaining balance left over that the VA would pay for that 100% disabled person. So the person in effect would pay for nothing for that operation. 

[Diane and Chris 651]

Thanks for all the responses. That is great that the VA allows immigrant spouses to use the insurance. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply in my case because my percentage is not that high. We have been looking around and figure to spend around $300-350 per month. I did check out "Obama" care. $1700/month. What a joke. Nothing affordable about that!  

[geowrian 22,335]

6 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

Thanks for all the responses. That is great that the VA allows immigrant spouses to use the insurance. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply in my case because my percentage is not that high. We have been looking around and figure to spend around $300-350 per month. I did check out "Obama" care. $1700/month. What a joke. Nothing affordable about that!  

$1700/month??? My roommate has it and the cost is like $170/month (silver plan).

 

(Not getting into politics...just surprised at the huge difference here)

Edited April 21, 2017 by geowrian

[yuna628 9,528]

36 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

Thanks for all the responses. That is great that the VA allows immigrant spouses to use the insurance. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply in my case because my percentage is not that high. We have been looking around and figure to spend around $300-350 per month. I did check out "Obama" care. $1700/month. What a joke. Nothing affordable about that!  

I just poked around the BCBS of Georgia's insurance site: they offer plans starting around $360 a month on the lower tier and $640 on the higher tier. If you're willing to go for Open Access/POS plans it's around $399. It's all in what benefits you're looking for. Take browse around ehealthinsurance and see if there are any other carriers that are cheaper. There's not much affordable in health insurance unfortunately. Hope you find something that works for you.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2017 by yuna628