Health care Options and Pitfalls

[NB1000 0]

Once I am in the US, I will have to purchase health care for myself, an HMO policy I assume. Recommendations or things to avoid. As a Canadian I know nothing about this. How much could I expect a healthy 52 year old female to cost?

Also, if I marry an American who does not have health care coverage under an HMO, can my assets be seized to pay for any medical attention he may need? I will be leaving some financial assets and a house in Canada and don't want them exposed to possible seizure by the US government. Also, if I just lived with an American long enough to be considered common-law, what might apply in this regard?

How long is a relationship deemed to be to qualify as common-law? I would be in North Carolina.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

What visa do you have?

[DandT14 272]

You could get a PPO, they cost a lot less. But then you will have to pay more at time of service (deductibles and co-pays). I would estimate for a basic PPO plan, plan on spending $200 per month. HMO's are much more. I'm in California though and everything costs more here. It could be less in North Carolina.

As for common-law, again I'm speaking from a California perspective, but it doesn't mean much here. I mean, you're not financially responsible for someone you just live with. And, the U.S. gov't isn't who you'd owe money to anyway, it would be whatever health care provider your husband built up charges with.

I don't know if I'm explaining this well. I've gone over it and over with my husband (he's Canadian) and he's always shocked at how much we pay for healthcare.

ETA: I just checked and North Carolina doesn't recognize common-law marriage.

Edited May 13, 2012 by SterlingDandT

[canada_socks 97]

I don't know if I'm explaining this well. I've gone over it and over with my husband (he's Canadian) and he's always shocked at how much we pay for healthcare.

Why is he shocked? I am Canadian and my husband (USC) is now paying a bit more than I was paying for my extra healthcare benefits when I lived in Canada (for dental, prescriptions etc). I am surprised how much less we pay in taxes down here in the USA as opposed to Canada (because Canadian healthcare is not free by any means).

I personally find that I am paying less for healthcare now in a tax sense at least.

Edited May 13, 2012 by sherrybaby

[DandT14 272]

Why is he shocked? I am Canadian and my husband (USC) is now paying a bit more than I was paying for my extra healthcare benefits when I lived in Canada (for dental, prescriptions etc). I am surprised how much less we pay in taxes down here in the USA as opposed to Canada (because Canadian healthcare is not free by any means).

I personally find that I am paying less for healthcare now in a tax sense at least.

Maybe because he's never paid for healthcare? Any prescriptions he ever needed he paid out of pocket, and they cost A LOT less than we pay for them.

Maybe it's about tax-brackets, but we don't pay less in taxes here than he paid there. And he used to get a GST check regularly too, so he got some money back.

Again, I didn't see where you were, but I'm in California and we pay more here than in most other states. I'm now getting health benefits through my employer (a PPO plan) and I pay nearly $700/month for 3 people. My husband finds that pretty shocking.

[LeftCoastLady 441]

Once I am in the US, I will have to purchase health care for myself, an HMO policy I assume. Recommendations or things to avoid. As a Canadian I know nothing about this. How much could I expect a healthy 52 year old female to cost?

Also, if I marry an American who does not have health care coverage under an HMO, can my assets be seized to pay for any medical attention he may need? I will be leaving some financial assets and a house in Canada and don't want them exposed to possible seizure by the US government. Also, if I just lived with an American long enough to be considered common-law, what might apply in this regard?

How long is a relationship deemed to be to qualify as common-law? I would be in North Carolina.

Common-law marriage is not recognized in North Carolina. If your intention is to immigrate to the U.S., then your future husband would have to file a petition for you to live here, either the K-1 or CR-1/IR-1. http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

Edited May 13, 2012 by LeftCoastLady

[NB1000 0]

I guess I should explain more. I am trying to go on a TN visa and am going through a lawyer for that. It's a legitimate situation.

I was more thinking if I lived with an American while I was there (and now I know NC does not recognize common-law, so thanks for that) or married an American and he did not have health care. Would I be responsible or do I have to factor that in.

And what is a PPO? So I can look up more.

Edited May 13, 2012 by NB1000

[LeftCoastLady 441]

I guess I should explain more. I am trying to go on a TN visa and am going through a lawyer for that. It's a legitimate situation.

I was more thinking if I lived with an American while I was there (and now I know NC does not recognize common-law, so thanks for that) or married an American and he did not have health care. Would I be responsible or do I have to factor that in.

And what is a PPO? So I can look up more.

PPO is the Preferred Provider Organization. To get a sense of your options, it may be good to check out the Wikipedia article on US healthcare, in particular, the private healthcare options. Once you decide on the type of healthcare -- HMO, PPO, etc. -- then you can start to investigate actual plans based on the insurance carrier and get an estimate on how much it will cost you.

Also, if you're planning to come on the TN visa, does your employer in the US offer healthcare? That would likely be cheaper than purchasing a plan on your own.

Edited May 13, 2012 by LeftCoastLady

[DandT14 272]

Employer health insurance is usually less expensive, like Leftcoast said.

If you marry someone you're usually financially responsible for their bills. But, if you had health insurance, you'd probably add your husband anyway.

FYI, it's not always easy for a non-citizen to get health insurance. Employer offered insurance might be your only option.

Edited May 13, 2012 by SterlingDandT

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

The most common scenario is that your employer offers a health care choice and foots part of the bill. The rest of the cost is deducted from your paycheck pre-tax.

The insurance companies and your employer have pamphlets and books that describe what is covered etc, so I would start there. I think that shopping randomly for a HMO or PPO will be very confusing. There are other options, so it's good to know where to look eventually, but this is really something you should get from your job.

Do you have a job lined up?