K1 pregnant wife, no health insurance DESESPERATE! Help

[David & Diana R 1,005]

yes I can but they dont cover my wife pregnancy, cause is a "preexistance condition". In order to cover her pregnancy expenses I should added her at least 8 month before her pregnancy

Sorry maybe this is a dumb question but why didn't you add her to your insurance the day you were married? I added my wife to my employers health insurance even before she arrived in US to be sure she would be covered once she landed here.

Aloha ke akua

[David & Diana R 1,005]

This post is proof nobody knows what the heck obamacare is, which is why it is failing so hard. Even the people who made it law don't know.

I agree, it's a frickin' mess! It's funny that most people have no idea where this money is going to come from to pay for all of these pre-existing conditions? The government.....hey wait that's us, isn't it? I guess I'll just buy car insurance after I get into an accident?? Oh yeah that doesn't make sense, you can't do that. Wow, could it be that all of us that work fulltime, all of our lives are going to make up all the money the insurance companies are going to lose otherwise?

Aloha ke Akua

[Andrea&Henry 311]

Sorry maybe this is a dumb question but why didn't you add her to your insurance the day you were married? I added my wife to my employers health insurance even before she arrived in US to be sure she would be covered once she landed here.

Aloha ke akua

the op said he didn't do it due to all the expenses (trips to china, his wife trip to the US, their wedding, new house, and her AoS) he waiting to recovered a lil bit before adding her. I feel so sorry for him sometimes this immigrations process are so so expensive

[Umka36 781]

The OP profile has Seattle listed as his city, so he should check out Washington State Medicaid to see if he qualifies:

http://www.hca.wa.gov/medicaid/Pages/index.aspx

This will probably will offend the OP, but he chose not to cover his wife when he got married back in 2012 because adding her would be too expensive (it gets more expensive when the baby is born). If he had added her then, he wouldn't be in this situation. You buy insurance in case you need it, not when you need it. If we all did this, imagine how much more expensive it would be.

Ultimately the OP will need to do what's in his family's best interest.

[Mike&Gina 7]

Hello, Hello

I retired in 2012 and I pay $300 dollars a month on my pension single plan. I inquired about adding honey Gina to my plan after we marry and they said it will be an additional $1,200 dollars per MONTH!!!! Why is it SOO much more to add her to my plan??? MAKES NO SENSE!! Its with United Healthcare. I am NOT giving 1/3 of my monthly pension away on something we don't even use - neither of us takes any medications or even gets sick and goes to doctors. We are very healthy people.

Does anyone know of any "cheaper" plans available?? Is there any plans that "foreigners" or "immigrants" can get here in the USA cheap since typically these fiancé's - or new spouses are not working yet??? Much appreciation....good luck to all, and GOD BLESS!!

[Umka36 781]

the op said he didn't do it due to all the expenses (trips to china, his wife trip to the US, their wedding, new house, and her AoS) he waiting to recovered a lil bit before adding her. I feel so sorry for him sometimes this immigrations process are so so expensive

It's the price you have to pay when immigranting someone from another country. It's not like the people in the US had a say in it when they have to pick up the tab. Nothing in life's for free, ultimately someone has to pay for it.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

It's the price you have to pay when immigranting someone from another country. It's not like the people in the US had a say in it when they have to pick up the tab. Nothing in life's for free, ultimately someone has to pay for it.

I agreed. That's why I think the poverty level guidelines for I-134/I-864 should be increased to take into account of these unexpected medical issues. One must at least show that they could provide medical insurance for the immigrants.

[Matrix56 0]

The OP profile has Seattle listed as his city, so he should check out Washington State Medicaid to see if he qualifies:

http://www.hca.wa.gov/medicaid/Pages/index.aspx

This will probably will offend the OP, but he chose not to cover his wife when he got married back in 2012 because adding her would be too expensive (it gets more expensive when the baby is born). If he had added her then, he wouldn't be in this situation. You buy insurance in case you need it, not when you need it. If we all did this, imagine how much more expensive it would be.

Ultimately the OP will need to do what's in his family's best interest.

i'm from Seattle but I moved to Deerfield, Florida a month ago. Is not offensive but you are telling me what I already know. Trust me, I would added my wife so we don't have to go through this. But adding her was $450 minus of my pay check. The last 2 years had been very very hard in terms of expenses (almost $150,000in trips to China, money orders, her trip, our k1 visa, our wedding, our new house plus furniture, bedroom set, etc etc etc, a car for her and her AoS) Thank God I saved all this money but my plan is to recover for a few month, enjoy our marriage and later have kids (at least 2 years). I got a phone call from my sister's OB and he told me he can take care of her prenatal care for $3900 and for the delivery I'll apply for an emergency medicaid. For the baby's need I still have some savings and Im thinking to have a second job. I hate using medicaid or any federal help but I've been paying my taxes since I can remember. I'm hard worker and I rather to work 3 shifts than relying on gov help and make other's to pay for what is my responsability

[David & Diana R 1,005]

the op said he didn't do it due to all the expenses (trips to china, his wife trip to the US, their wedding, new house, and her AoS) he waiting to recovered a lil bit before adding her. I feel so sorry for him sometimes this immigrations process are so so expensive

Whoops I didn't see that post before I wrote my question. Maybe I suffer from an overabundance of caution but I not been without medical insurance since I was 15 years old. It cost me 700 dollars a month to cover myself and wife but it's so necessary. I also feel for the op, this journey is so long. I did not mean to insult the op.

Have a nice day

Aloha Ke Akua,

[Umka36 781]

i'm from Seattle but I moved to Deerfield, Florida a month ago. Is not offensive but you are telling me what I already know. Trust me, I would added my wife so we don't have to go through this. But adding her was $450 minus of my pay check. The last 2 years had been very very hard in terms of expenses (almost $150,000in trips to China, money orders, her trip, our k1 visa, our wedding, our new house plus furniture, bedroom set, etc etc etc, a car for her and her AoS) Thank God I saved all this money but my plan is to recover for a few month, enjoy our marriage and later have kids (at least 2 years). I got a phone call from my sister's OB and he told me he can take care of her prenatal care for $3900 and for the delivery I'll apply for an emergency medicaid. For the baby's need I still have some savings and Im thinking to have a second job. I hate using medicaid or any federal help but I've been paying my taxes since I can remember. I'm hard worker and I rather to work 3 shifts than relying on gov help and make other's to pay for what is my responsability

One suggestion I recommend doing is to verify if you quailify for emergency medicaid.

[newacct 688]

If she qualifies for Medicaid for pregnant women in your state, another idea is:

Withdraw the I-864, cancelling her green card application. Use the Medicaid until she delivers. And then later apply for her green card again. Downside is she won't be able to work or drive or leave the country and she will technically be deportable during this time (but is not likely going to be a problem).

Edited August 7, 2013 by newacct

[Umka36 781]

If she qualifies for Medicaid for pregnant women in your state, another idea is:

Withdraw the I-864, cancelling her green card application. Use the Medicaid until she delivers. And then later apply for her green card again. Downside is she won't be able to work or drive or leave the country and she will technically be deportable during this time (but is not likely going to be a problem).

The OP needs to contact the State medicaid office to confirm his family qualifies for emergency medicaid. Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but when you apply for any medicaid (including emergency) they look at the household income right? If that is correct, he would not only have to withdraw the I-864 but would also need to divorce his wife in order for her to qualify on her own.

How can I tell if my spouse and I or my children are eligible for medical assistance?

• The best way is to call the CSO closest to you or go visit it in person. That way you can talk specifically about your income and circumstances. Take your pay stubs and other financial proof of income along with you. If you want a general idea of your eligibility, you can use the benefit calculator and enter the information requested in the form.

http://www.hca.wa.gov/medicaid/Pages/index.aspx

Edited August 7, 2013 by Umka36

[newacct 688]

The OP needs to contact the State medicaid office to confirm his family qualifies for emergency medicaid. Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but when you apply for any medicaid (including emergency) they look at the household income right? If that is correct, he would not only have to withdraw the I-864 but would also need to divorce his wife in order for her to qualify on her own.

How can I tell if my spouse and I or my children are eligible for medical assistance?

• The best way is to call the CSO closest to you or go visit it in person. That way you can talk specifically about your income and circumstances. Take your pay stubs and other financial proof of income along with you. If you want a general idea of your eligibility, you can use the benefit calculator and enter the information requested in the form.

http://www.hca.wa.gov/medicaid/Pages/index.aspx

Right, I mean assuming that she is eligible for Medicaid. (since there was much discussion about Medicaid eariler) Obviously they would need to figure out whether she is eligible or not before doing this.

Edited August 7, 2013 by newacct

[VanessaTony 3,567]

If he is already enrolled in the health plan and they offer spouse coverage there is no, none, zero possible way that they can exclude his spouse due to pregnancy

I'm not sure why you quoted me. I never said she could be EXCLUDED, I said they would be able to get around having to cover her pregnancy because a) she's not on the plan already and b) there is often a waiting period for certain services, and pregnancy is one of them.

If she was able to get on his insurance, it wouldn't help their situation because it seems like his plan is one with a waiting period. On the up-side, once she has the kid it's another "life-changing event" and he should be able to add her (and the baby) to his insurance (if he hasn't already during the next open enrollment).

[amykathleen2005 441]

Really? usually when it is employer group plans, pregnancy cannot be seen as a pre-existing condition and hence coverage cannot be denied. I thought it was against federal law from my understanding. Read the handbook or whatever from the health insurance company and read it carefully. There are exceptions. I'm pregnant and also on my husbands health insurance plan and I went and read about it and other stuff. That's what almost all plans said. Both my company and his. We went with his because I will be on FMLA and I wasn't sure if I would still have my plan then.

http://www.insure.com/articles/healthinsurancefaq/pregnancy-pre-existing-condition-health-plan.html

You usually have to enroll at a life changing event such as a marriage or wait for the open enrollment period for the pre-existing not to qualify.