is AOS a qualifying life event for insurance?

[jamesscaggs 1]

My wife is about 6 months pregnant and we just got our AOS interview scheduled for September 13th. I have my own insurance but she doesn't.

We can't buy insurance for her without a "qualifying life event."

Does anyone know if the adjustment of status approval or receiving a green card qualifies as a "qualifying life event" which will allow her to purchase or be added to my insurance?

Does anyone know if there is a waiting period after the interview before receiving the green card?

[Georgia16 2,858]

Why can't see be added to yours now as your spouse?

[yuna628 9,527]

My wife is about 6 months pregnant and we just got our AOS interview scheduled for September 13th. I have my own insurance but she doesn't.

We can't buy insurance for her without a "qualifying life event."

Does anyone know if the adjustment of status approval or receiving a green card qualifies as a "qualifying life event" which will allow her to purchase or be added to my insurance?

Does anyone know if there is a waiting period after the interview before receiving the green card?

There is no reason why you cannot obtain health insurance for your spouse right now. You can add her to your health insurance. You can buy her insurance privately. Or she can obtain insurance through O'care. Does she have an SSN?

Regarding QLE's, your wife has long qualified under the period of special enrollment - due to, being recently married, being recently immigrated, and possibly pregnancy. How is your wife obtaining care for her pregnancy without insurance? O'care's rules for immigrants are clearly spelled out on it's website (you can see it in my signature link below). You did not have to wait for a green card to obtain insurance. You can obtain it if you applied for AOS, with just your NOA1. An EAD would also very much work. That's just for O'care, as well. Private insurance should provide you with no problems in purchasing with bare minimum proof of documentation. A marriage certificate was just needed for ours at BCBS. You do not need to provide them with an SSN. If you encounter someone that says you don't qualify, or that you need an SSN, or that immigrants can't get insurance, or just seems otherwise stupid.. ask for a supervisor. The federal rules are the rules, but employees and HR they may hire these days are negligent in knowing and following the rules.

Since your wife is so far along, absolutely get the ball rolling on this, you could have had insurance for her long ago. It will not be free, premiums these days are quite costly. Pick which option works best for you.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

You should have added her to your health insurance at work as soon as you married or as soon as she arrived in the US (whichever came first)

[f f 725]

getting a green card approved is a qualifying event. as are getting married and emigrating to the usa. for Obamacare there is no requirement that you have legal status of any kind. it is just to receive payment assistance you need legal status. as for being able to get private insurance I would doubt it since you wife is pregnant and there will be a big medical bill soon and risk wise there is a 100% that they will have to pay out 10k plus for it. so if you do find private insurance make sure they will cover the pregnancy and not consider it a preexisting condition and not cover it.

[Unlockable 7,306]

For benefits through your employer they usually only gives you 30 days after the life event (marriage, baby). Sounds like this may be a case where the OP is past the 30 days. I don't think AOS qualifies but it may very well be for some insurers. Regardless, I doubt anyone here will know as we don't know the OP's employer or healthcare provider.

OP,

It is best to contact your employer's healthcare provider and see if your wife obtaining a permanent resident status qualifies.

[yuna628 9,527]

getting a green card approved is a qualifying event. as are getting married and emigrating to the usa. for Obamacare there is no requirement that you have legal status of any kind. it is just to receive payment assistance you need legal status. as for being able to get private insurance I would doubt it since you wife is pregnant and there will be a big medical bill soon and risk wise there is a 100% that they will have to pay out 10k plus for it. so if you do find private insurance make sure they will cover the pregnancy and not consider it a preexisting condition and not cover it.

Please don't spread false information. Health insurance is confusing enough for immigrants with a plethora of misinformation out there, that often leads couples to make very bad uninformed decisions.

You DO need legal status in this country to obtain health insurance on O'care. You need to be here in this country, legally to use it, and provide the required documentation they ask for.

Under federal law pre-existing conditions MUST BE COVERED, and you CANNOT be DENIED such coverage based on pregnancy.

The OP could purchase health insurance privately for their spouse right now if they so desire to. The OP can also sign up for O'care if they so wish to.

[f f 725]

I admit I was wrong about the legal status part.

if you buy insurance not through open enrollment or a special enrollment period (such as marriage, getting green card or emigrating). then there are still options to get insurance and these policies may or may not meet the aca requirments of treating pre existing conditions. if it was possible to buy insurance at any time have a baby and then drop coverage the insurers would never make any money on the plan.

buying coverage through an aca special enrollment would cover your pregnancy since they are required to cover preexisting conditions.

https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/miss-open-enrollment-youve-got-options/

Edited August 21, 2016 by f f

[yuna628 9,527]

I admit I was wrong about the legal status part.

if you buy insurance not through open enrollment or a special enrollment period (such as marriage, getting green card or emigrating). then there are still options to get insurance and these policies may or may not meet the aca requirments of treating pre existing conditions. if it was possible to buy insurance at any time have a baby and then drop coverage the insurers would never make any money on the plan.

buying coverage through an aca special enrollment would cover your pregnancy since they are required to cover preexisting conditions.

https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/miss-open-enrollment-youve-got-options/

All insurance companies must meet the ACA requirements as a federal standard. They must treat pre-existing conditions and you cannot be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing condition under the law and any practice of an insurer to deny coverage based on pregnancy was banned. The rules apply for private insurers and any that participate with the federal exchange.

Temporary insurances and travel insurances marketed towards immigrants are not insurances that meet such federal standards. Grandfathered plans (very old plans or plans existing before March 23rd, 2010) also are exceptions to meeting such a rule (and even some of these plans offered coverage for pregnancy). That is not what the OP is talking about here, however.

Any plan the OP seeks to obtain for their spouse they will not be denied due to pre-existing condition or pregnancy - period.

[f f 725]

yes the plans they want will cover it but since they would not be able to get an aca plan unless they get a special enrollment window. the ones that are available may not cover it.

let's look at this from the insurance companies perspective. if a person gets knocked up and dosent bother getting coverage for 8.5 months then right before the baby is due scramble and gets coverage that covers the birth and then that person drops coverage a week after they paid about 200 bucks and had the insurance company cover 10k plus worth of costs. that makes no financial sense as to why they would offer coverage that would allow that.

not all medical insurance has to meet aca standards. you can get insurance for anything with the right conditions of course. all medical insurance that is sold on the exchange must meet aca standards and if you want to avoid paying a penalty on your taxes you must buy an aca qualifying plan.

things you can do if your uninsured and pregnant

http://www.bernardhealth.com/woofstreetjournal/bid/201860/I-m-pregnant-don-t-have-health-insurance-What-should-I-do

about short term plans

https://www.healthinsurance.org/short-term-health-insurance/

if you read down a bit short term plans are not regulated by aca so they are not required to cover preexisting conditions.

[Ischnura 285]

yes the plans they want will cover it but since they would not be able to get an aca plan unless they get a special enrollment window. the ones that are available may not cover it.

let's look at this from the insurance companies perspective. if a person gets knocked up and dosent bother getting coverage for 8.5 months then right before the baby is due scramble and gets coverage that covers the birth and then that person drops coverage a week after they paid about 200 bucks and had the insurance company cover 10k plus worth of costs. that makes no financial sense as to why they would offer coverage that would allow that.

not all medical insurance has to meet aca standards. you can get insurance for anything with the right conditions of course. all medical insurance that is sold on the exchange must meet aca standards and if you want to avoid paying a penalty on your taxes you must buy an aca qualifying plan.

things you can do if your uninsured and pregnant

http://www.bernardhealth.com/woofstreetjournal/bid/201860/I-m-pregnant-don-t-have-health-insurance-What-should-I-do

about short term plans

https://www.healthinsurance.org/short-term-health-insurance/

if you read down a bit short term plans are not regulated by aca so they are not required to cover preexisting conditions.

Not sure why anyone would drop coverage a week after having a baby. There are so many more appointments to follow. And if every insurer went by your logic then what would be the point of insuring anyone 'just in case' they decided not to keep it? I feel like you're being pernickety just for the sake of it.

OP, I would absolutely take Yuna's advice here. We had a qualifying event - husband changed jobs - that allowed us to go through the marketplace to search but in the end I had to call. The rep got me on our health plan without an SSN, just using my passport number. We do have 90 days from that date to provide additional documents for myself also. I-94 no, military ID, proof of no incarceration, and SSN when I have it etc etc.

Marriage is a qualifying life event but you have to report it to them within 30 days. As is having a baby but most, if not all, don't pay previous medical bills.

[yuna628 9,527]

ff: I don't know how many times I can correct what you are saying for you to realize that your statement is in error. Whether they obtain health insurance through a private insurer or through the ACA makes little difference. NO insurance company (unless under the exceptions I described) can deny for a pre-existing condition or can deny if an individual is pregnant. All insurance companies whether they offer a subsidized plan on the exchange or one that is purchased privately from the company directly MUST FOLLOW federal law.

Edited August 21, 2016 by yuna628

[Neonred 3,445]

yes the plans they want will cover it but since they would not be able to get an aca plan unless they get a special enrollment window. the ones that are available may not cover it.

let's look at this from the insurance companies perspective. if a person gets knocked up and dosent bother getting coverage for 8.5 months then right before the baby is due scramble and gets coverage that covers the birth and then that person drops coverage a week after they paid about 200 bucks and had the insurance company cover 10k plus worth of costs. that makes no financial sense as to why they would offer coverage that would allow that.

not all medical insurance has to meet aca standards. you can get insurance for anything with the right conditions of course. all medical insurance that is sold on the exchange must meet aca standards and if you want to avoid paying a penalty on your taxes you must buy an aca qualifying plan.

things you can do if your uninsured and pregnant

http://www.bernardhealth.com/woofstreetjournal/bid/201860/I-m-pregnant-don-t-have-health-insurance-What-should-I-do

about short term plans

https://www.healthinsurance.org/short-term-health-insurance/

if you read down a bit short term plans are not regulated by aca so they are not required to cover preexisting conditions.

This is correct.

[f f 725]

"short term health insurance" is not the same as "aca health insurance". this is the point I am driving at. this is because short term insurance is not ment to be your primary coverage it is supposed to fill the gap in coverage.

https://www.google.com/search?q=are+temporary+insurance+plans+required+to+be+aca+compliant&oq=are+temporary+insurance+plans+required+to+be+aca+compliant

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-01-09/short-term-health-plans-obamacare-alternatives-they-are-not

http://obamacarefacts.com/insurance-exchange/short-term-health-insurance/

I am just trying to show that it is possible to buy temporary insurance that does not meet the aca requirments. so read the fine print about the policy.

to get a plan that is guaranteed to be aca compliant you either have to have a life changing event and still be in the window or wait till open enrollment.

[Ischnura 285]

But where did you get the idea that they're only looking for short term coverage? Having a child comes with doctors appointments much too frequent to make it cost effective, not to mention the cost of birth itself. I personally don't see how someone would rather pay out of pocket for these appointments (they cost enough even with a healthy child) if it would cost their family less to remain insured.

To answer the OP's original question, Washington state told us that AOS will only start a window once it's approved. I'd presume this was for all states but I'd certainly call your states health plan finder and inquire. At least that way you can get the correct answer rather than mixed ones here. Congratulations on the marriage and soon to be parenthood