Health Insurance

[g65nov 0]

Hi all, thanks for your great advice over the years!

I have a question. My mom is coming as a new US resident this week. She will probably stay for a couple of months then return after a few months. She has health insurance in Colombia but obviously that is not good here. She will probably be here 2 or 3 months out of the year in total but over time that will probably increase. My question is what have some of you done regarding health insurance? Would travel insurance work? Am I or my husband personally responsable for her medical care if she is injured? Without insurance that could be quite expensive. Any thoughts or things I should consider or think about?

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

Well, the first thing to think about is she will loose her greencard quickly if she only spends a couple of months a year in the USA.

In terms of health insurance, travelers insurance won;t cover her as officially, she is not a traveller but a resident of the USA. You could look into short term insurance, which covers major stuff (accidents etc).

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi all, thanks for your great advice over the years!

I have a question. My mom is coming as a new US resident this week. She will probably stay for a couple of months then return after a few months. She has health insurance in Colombia but obviously that is not good here. She will probably be here 2 or 3 months out of the year in total but over time that will probably increase. My question is what have some of you done regarding health insurance? Would travel insurance work? Am I or my husband personally responsable for her medical care if she is injured? Without insurance that could be quite expensive. Any thoughts or things I should consider or think about?

How old is your mother? If she's over 65 then she might be eligible for Medicare, but she'd have to pay full premiums. It's not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than private health insurance. If she's under 65 then private health insurance is your only option. She won't be eligible for any publicly subsidized health insurance (i.e., Medicaid) until she's been a permanent resident for five years, and even then they could come after you for reimbursement because of the affidavit of support. It's possible that she might be able to find cheaper health insurance on on the insurance exchange once the ACHA kicks fully next year, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Many people who claim to be "in the know" are saying that health insurance premiums are going up - WAY up - next year.

I don't mean to be a rude jerk, but since I'm so good at it here goes...

Did you not think about this before sponsoring your mother to immigrate to the US?