K1 and health insurance - help!

[kanderson101 131]

Hi all,

 

My fiance arrived on a K1 visa a little over 1 week ago. We got married three days ago. When I was preparing for his arrival, I was told by my HR that I could add him to my insurance plan through my employer after marriage as this is a qualifying life event. I attempted to do so today. 

 

We hit a snag - I am actually still on my parents' insurance as I am under 26. I had figure I could switch over to my company insurance and add him to the benefits after we married. Apparently, this is not allowed. He will have health insurance through my employer for the 2019 year since open enrollment is coming up, but that still means he won't be covered for the rest of 2018. Does anyone have recommendations for insurance plans that I could look into? I've never had a non-commercial insurance plan before and I'm a little lost. It doesn't look like he qualifies for WA state medicaid based on his current status.

 

Any help would be appreciated. 

Edited October 31, 2018 by kanderson101

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

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[Umka36 781]

1 hour ago, kanderson101 said:

Hi all,

 

My fiance arrived on a K1 visa a little over 1 week ago. We got married three days ago. When I was preparing for his arrival, I was told by my HR that I could add him to my insurance plan through my employer after marriage as this is a qualifying life event. I attempted to do so today. 

 

We hit a snag - I am actually still on my parents' insurance as I am under 26. I had figure I could switch over to my company insurance and add him to the benefits after we married. Apparently, this is not allowed. He will have health insurance through my employer for the 2019 year since open enrollment is coming up, but that still means he won't be covered for the rest of 2018. Does anyone have recommendations for insurance plans that I could look into? I've never had a non-commercial insurance plan before and I'm a little lost. It doesn't look like he qualifies for WA state medicaid based on his current status.

 

Any help would be appreciated. 

Did he file his AOS yet? Have you looked at WA Health Benefit exchange?

 

https://www.wahbexchange.org/

 

 

[kanderson101 131]

5 minutes ago, Umka36 said:

Did he file his AOS yet? Have you looked at WA Health Benefit exchange?

 

https://www.wahbexchange.org/

 

 

I have looked into WA Health Benefit Exchange, unfortunately the site is currently down. When I looked into eligibility documents (https://www.wahbexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/HBE_SN_160328_Citizenship_Immigration_Toolkit.pdf) I was confused because he is on a K1, but I'm assuming his status changes after we file AOS. We have not done this yet. Based on that it still doesn't sound like he would qualify for anything except for "Alien Emergency Medical". I'm assuming that's just for emergency visits and doesn't qualify as typical coverage. 

 

The short-term insurance company I looked at in WA (LifeMap) seems cheap but I don't know how reliable that is AND it doesn't meet the standards for the ACA (so I suppose we would still be subject to penalties)? 

[Umka36 781]

2 minutes ago, kanderson101 said:

I have looked into WA Health Benefit Exchange, unfortunately the site is currently down. When I looked into eligibility documents (https://www.wahbexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/HBE_SN_160328_Citizenship_Immigration_Toolkit.pdf) I was confused because he is on a K1, but I'm assuming his status changes after we file AOS. We have not done this yet. Based on that it still doesn't sound like he would qualify for anything except for "Alien Emergency Medical". I'm assuming that's just for emergency visits and doesn't qualify as typical coverage. 

 

The short-term insurance company I looked at in WA (LifeMap) seems cheap but I don't know how reliable that is AND it doesn't meet the standards for the ACA (so I suppose we would still be subject to penalties)? 

Starting in 2019 the penalty no longer applies. There are also many exemptions to not paying the penalty.

 

https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-tool/#/

 

He needs to file the AOS, in which turn he will receive an I-797 notice showing he filed for PR. This will allow him to apply through the WA health exchange. Depending on your household income, he may qualify for PTC (premium tax credit) which can be used to offset the some/most of the cost of the health plan. You need to call them (health exchange navigator) to get more information for further guidance if you need additional help on the process. I'm just providing the very basics of how the system works.

 

https://www.wahbexchange.org/partners/navigators/