Health insurance only for citizens?

[Cathi 5,609]

Hi,

I am a LPR and I'm trying to get insured through my husband's work. Human Resources Dept. said they can/will only insure citizens, not LPR.

Is this something a company can decide to do by themselves? I understand LPRs are entitled to health insurance too and I would prefer being added to my husband's plan than buying my own.

My husband is an LPR and has insurance through work. I wasn;t aware that companies could deny benefits to LPRs. They insured him after the enrollment period because it was a qualifying event. Sounds to me that HR is either lying, they don't know the rules, they are just too lazy to find out..or all of the above

Edited April 11, 2015 by mimolicious

[1stLoveRedo 111]

Ivy,

Your husband has the qualifying event, this is just too odd.

What state?

Is the company on the large size? Is there just a one-department HR ?

This is really odd

[jens_prodigy 13]

This is dumb, I'm not even an LPR yet (going through AOS now) and I've been on my wife's insurance (we are a same sex couple by the way) since the day after our wedding. I've been to various doctor's appointment since being here- -dentist, eye doctor and urgent care when I wasn't feeling too well. Having this insurance has been a blessing! I really hope you get this worked out quickly because not being insured is a scary feeling and this is an injustice. Good luck to you, keep fighting this! Don't give up!

[Katyusha.russia 12]

Hi, this is strange because I was added to my husband's insurance policy right after our marriage. Im not an LPR. We are in the immigration process yet. The HR didn't say anything negative because of my status. I still live in my home country. But when I visited my husband just few monts ago I went to the doctor and used my insurance.

[GurkenSalat 48]

I am the LPR. My husband is the citizen. I am insured through my work, and I have him covered under that.

What I'm saying is, your husband's HR dept. is really funny. And not in a good way.

[1stLoveRedo 111]

I was a LPR for 5.5 years before I became a USC, and never had an issue.

The only difference between me then and you now, is that I was a main insuree and you are a defendant.

Unless there is something in the master policy that prevents non-citizen dependents from joinin ( which I seriously doubt) you should be covered.

Regardless, you are eligible based on https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/immigration-status/

[raven52 233]

I think when legally married, then the HR will have to insure you.,.,.,.I am almost sure, but have your hubby, to contact a HR Manager for his

company!

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

Sounds like they don't know their ### from their elbow. My wife was able to put me on her insurance as soon as we married and before I became an LPR.

Good luck with getting answers from them, sometimes dealing with HR is like wading through treacle!

[feli114 65]

I insured my husband 10 days after we were married. He didn't have a social or green card. K1

[belinda63 2,981]

Problem is this couple has been married for a while. It is clear marriage is an event to permit an addition to the insurance outside of open enrollment. What the insurance dept/HR does not seem to understand is that moving to the US/becoming a new immigrant is also a life-changing event. Obviously he couldn't insure while outside of the US since the insurance coverage was not available there. Problem is the HR dept is being ignorant and hiding behind a false reason for denying adding the spouse.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

Sounds like you need to speak to a supervisor in your HR department. The first person you talk to rarely knows or can be bothered to look into much.

While it's possible that the plan only covers USCs, (remember, employers pay a large part of the health insurance, so they may be choosy who they cover) it's unlikely. You probably just need to speak to the right person.

[Ralph and Meghan 19]

When i came over, my wife i got under my wife's health care without any issue's, Check the policy of the health care provider they make the rules not the company your husband is working for.

[NikLR 13,220]

Find out who does the insurance for the company. HR doesn't insure you, a separate company does. Then you can look up the rules the insurance company has.

[Ivy. 113]

Why didn't you enroll as soon as you got your ssn? That's what I did with my wife, I enrolled her before she even sent in her AOS paperwork. My best guess is that you might have to wait until the enrollment period to sign up.

I am WITHIN my enrolment period. It sounds to me like your wife came on a K-1 visa. I came on an IR-1 visa. It is a different process.

[Ivy. 113]

So my husband spoke to someone who said they spoke to Humana and Humana told them that as per their agreement, they can not insure me. We have not seen the contract yet. I am trying to get to it. Thanks for the ideas, guys.