What health insurance do you have????

[icv21 110]

I've been trying to look some info around the forum about Health insurances, I really don't know and understand how all these things work here....

I don't have one yet we are waiting for my EAD so we can afford it.

My husband doesn't is not sure if put me in his or since I will be a green card holder in the future there are different prices.

We looked in Humana it's where he has his and the prices were very high.... so I'm kind of curious and could help to know in what companies you are all and what the average of money you pay????

Another question is.. Should I have one already since with Obamacare it's obligatory to be under insurance??? ( correct me if I understood it wrong ) I don't have a visa I'm a ESTA overstay so I'm not sure about my legal situation

I will appreciate any kind of help and comments

[Bill and Vicky 25]

I'll take a shot at this.

My wife was added to my health insurance when we got married. There was no difference in the expense just because she had a green card. It was the difference between a family of one and a family of two. The presence of an EAD also doesn't affect the health insurance cost unless you get a job yourself, and then it may be that it's cheaper for each of you to have your own health insurance through your employers than it is to have it through one employer as a married couple.

It has been my observation that if your spouse has health insurance that's usually the cheapest route. Whether or not it's the "best" route depends on what you need health coverage for. Most employers offer several different plans, and you can look at the different ones and decide what's right for you. For example, some plans have a very low monthly cost but a very high deductible, which is the amount you'd have to pay out-of-pocket when you go and see a doctor. If neither of you have health problems and don't ever see doctors, that would likely be a better deal than something with lower deductibles but a higher monthly expense.

It is estimated that half of all bankruptces in the United States are due to costs related to a health issue (a heart attack, cancer, etc.). The purpose of having health insurance is to protect you against financial disaster in case something bad happens.

Health insurance is "mandatory", but if you don't have it the only penalty will be that you will have to pay a "tax" on your income tax return at the end of the year. Over time, that penalty will probably be larger and larger to encourage people to get health insurance.

If you have little or no income, the health insurance available through the government is likely cheaper or free than what you would get through an employer.

If you're an overstay, I'd be a lot more worried about getting your visa paperwork done.

Regards,

Bill

[Camelot13 63]

I agree with Bill. I was able to sign my husband up through my employer and the price did go up but that was the normal rate for adding a spouse (any spouse) to the plan. My husband didn't have a social security number at the time, but we were still about to get him on my plan. The only problem was that without the SSN, I had to contact my HR representative whenever we wanted to schedule a doctor appointment because the plan did not officially recognize him and the HR rep had to confirm that he was indeed valid on my plan. The benefit of being on his employer plan with him is that you'd have another joint document for your interview and it will likely be the cheapest because they are often subsidized partially by the employer.

Obamacare is an option as well, and I'd recommend making an appointment with a certified enrollment counselor to discuss your options. They should have good info for which options you have available. The Affordable Care Act has mandated that everyone needs to be enrolled in a healthcare plan, either through an employer or Healthcare.gov but, as Bill said, the penalty at the moment is a fee when you file your taxes so it's not like you'll get kicked out of the country if you don't have healthcare.

If you don't sign up for a healthcare plan, you are entitled to emergency medicaid as an immigrant.

I have Kaiser Permanente and I've been pretty happy with them. Through my employer plan, I pay $90/month but that is partially sponsored by my employer. When my job ends later this month, I'll be on a medicaid Obamacare plan because it is the cheapest, but there are a variety of plan options that average about $500/month without premium assistance.

I'm not sure if being an overstay affects any of this or not. Have you filed your AOS yet?

[icv21 110]

I see. Thanks for writing!

My husband is self-employee, rides motorcycles for a living so his health insurance is high....it mostly covers emergency room..... And accidental things ( since it happens often......) but a simple appointment with a doctor is expensive, and that's kind of what I like more for me since I don't live an extreme life... But I will need birth control pills and

I Thought waiting until the EAD and getting a job would be easier to pay for it or see what they offer.

But I wondered if I could be in trouble being without insurance while waiting for my AOS since it's "mandatory"

My overstay is "fine" I didn't come here illegally or anything just came to visit my husband ( boyfriend then we dated for 5 years ) and at the end of my stay he proposed and told me to stay so we filled for AOS and my stay has expired... I'm waiting for uscis like everybody else.

Only problem is that at the insurance place they asked for visa number or green card holder and I'm nothing right now!

[d3adc0d3 186]

You can purchase traveller's insurance which will cover a good part of the cost of the medical expenses:

http://www.***removed***.com/

http://www.visitorscoverage.com/

[Darnell 8,478]

I suggest you get to healthcare.gov

then find the phone number from the site,

and call them, talk with a human, getting a quote on just yerself.