Health insurance on K1 between arrival and marriage?

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

My fiancee is arriving in America on a K1 visa in less that two weeks but our wedding is in mid-April. I have health and dental insurance through my employer but in order for her to be added to my employment-based insurance plans, we need to be married. That means, there will be a period of about 2 months she is not covered by health or dental insurance. How are others addressing this situation as it must be a common issue among K1 visa arrivals?

Edited February 1, 2015 by Bjorn&lyne

[Greenbaum 12,258]

My fiancee is arriving in America on a K1 visa in less that two weeks but our wedding is in mid-April. I have health and dental insurance through my employer but in order for her to be added to my employment-based insurance plans, we need to be married. That means, there will be a period of about 2 months she is not covered by health or dental insurance. How are others addressing this situation as it must be a common issue among K1 visa arrivals?

I just covered this topic about a week ago. Look here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/533142-health-insurance-during-travel-till-she-is-on-your-work-plan/

[ADRII15 6]

I signed up for IMG's Patriot America travel/immigrant insurance after reading a bunch of topics on this site. Can't say much more about them, since I didn't have to file any claims.

[manilaraf 28]

Greenbaum, I checked your link and it seems like VJ stripped the URL from your post.

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

Yeah, link is gone...

I signed up for IMG's Patriot America travel/immigrant insurance after reading a bunch of topics on this site. Can't say much more about them, since I didn't have to file any claims.

Thanks for the tip. I am looking at its website right now. I never heard of it before.

[ADRII15 6]

Thanks for the tip. I am looking at its website right now. I never heard of it before.

There are a couple of topics about them on VJ, maybe they are helpful to you:

http://www.visajourney.com/search/index.php?cx=007424365766759747816%3Auy9flr-th5y&cof=FORID%3A10&q=%22Patriot+America%22&sa=Search&siteurl=www.visajourney.com%2F&ref=&ss=2598j424886j20

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

There are a couple of topics about them on VJ, maybe they are helpful to you:

http://www.visajourney.com/search/index.php?cx=007424365766759747816%3Auy9flr-th5y&cof=FORID%3A10&q=%22Patriot+America%22&sa=Search&siteurl=www.visajourney.com%2F&ref=&ss=2598j424886j20

Thanks. I think I will go with that for a couple of months for fiancee until my insurance plan covers her.

[asisflyer 47]

I have paid for IMG many times. But good luck come claim time. They are essentially unregulated and there is little recourse if and when they choose not to pay.

Google for some reviews. A lot of unhappy IMG travel plan folks.

Still it provides you with the "illusion" of coverage.

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

I have paid for IMG many times. But good luck come claim time. They are essentially unregulated and there is little recourse if and when they choose not to pay.

Google for some reviews. A lot of unhappy IMG travel plan folks.

Still it provides you with the "illusion" of coverage.

Good point. I will google reviews. Thanks!

[asisflyer 47]

I did a lot of research on this sir. I would consider an actual "Underwritten" short term medical plan.

Check out ehealthinsurance to find some names of short term plans. Then you can go direct to their websites.

Underwritten short-term health plans with have pre-existing exclusions and cost high deductibles and are not ACA QHP BUT, they will at least be regulated and real.

As I said before, I always felt safe on those IMG Patriot travel plans linked up through a US PPO but there are a lot of stories of issues.

FYI As soon as you get married, even if she has no social, she can apply on the Federal Healthcare.gov for coverage on marketplace (unsubsidized) as a 60-day Special Enrollment Period She would refuse any subsidy and pay full price for her plan so that she can say no on the I-485 benefit question at interview !!!! The I-797C for the I-485 is sufficient to show Adjustment to LPR status for qualification.

Although the social is not technically required for private group insurance plans, they do seem to ask for them and whine about the reasons they need them. Reality is they have no federal authority to demand a social, but good luck explaining that.

P.S. States with private exchange sites all have different rules. CA for instance only allows AOS to apply with approved immigration petition which effectively excludes Concurrent Filers. The federal one just states Applicants for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residence.

hope this helps.

[Greenbaum 12,258]

manilaraf, on 01 Feb 2015 - 6:20 PM, said:

Greenbaum, I checked your link and it seems like VJ stripped the URL from your post.

Ahhhh sorry. Didn't see that they struck out the information provided. Check your email I will send it to you privately.

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

I did a lot of research on this sir. I would consider an actual "Underwritten" short term medical plan.

Check out ehealthinsurance to find some names of short term plans. Then you can go direct to their websites.

Underwritten short-term health plans with have pre-existing exclusions and cost high deductibles and are not ACA QHP BUT, they will at least be regulated and real.

As I said before, I always felt safe on those IMG Patriot travel plans linked up through a US PPO but there are a lot of stories of issues.

FYI As soon as you get married, even if she has no social, she can apply on the Federal Healthcare.gov for coverage on marketplace (unsubsidized) as a 60-day Special Enrollment Period She would refuse any subsidy and pay full price for her plan so that she can say no on the I-485 benefit question at interview !!!! The I-797C for the I-485 is sufficient to show Adjustment to LPR status for qualification.

Although the social is not technically required for private group insurance plans, they do seem to ask for them and whine about the reasons they need them. Reality is they have no federal authority to demand a social, but good luck explaining that.

P.S. States with private exchange sites all have different rules. CA for instance only allows AOS to apply with approved immigration petition which effectively excludes Concurrent Filers. The federal one just states Applicants for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residence.

hope this helps.

Thanks. I will do more research based on suggestions

[CLE 0]

My fiancee is arriving in America on a K1 visa in less that two weeks but our wedding is in mid-April. I have health and dental insurance through my employer but in order for her to be added to my employment-based insurance plans, we need to be married. That means, there will be a period of about 2 months she is not covered by health or dental insurance. How are others addressing this situation as it must be a common issue among K1 visa arrivals?

This was about three years ago, but I bought a short-term "inbound immigrant" policy (for my then-fiancee) from a website called Seven Corners. I think it was a three month term, which was more than enough time to add coverage under my employer's plan. Thankfully we didn't need to use the coverage, so I can't offer any opinion on whether I bought anything other than a little peace of mind.

[Bjorn&lyne 20]

This was about three years ago, but I bought a short-term "inbound immigrant" policy (for my then-fiancee) from a website called Seven Corners. I think it was a three month term, which was more than enough time to add coverage under my employer's plan. Thankfully we didn't need to use the coverage, so I can't offer any opinion on whether I bought anything other than a little peace of mind.

Thanks, I never heard of this. I am looking at their website so it appears they still are in business.

[Al422 221]

If you don't get short term insurance, you might get slapped with a fine from Obamacare for the gap, but the fine is considerably lower than the cost of the coverage.

Since US health insurance cannot deny pre exisiting conditions, if your fiance gets a costly illness and cannot wait the two months to get treated, you can always buy insurance for her after the fact, and they must cover it.

The only real risk you take not getting immediate coverage is if she ends up in the ER. Something like that could cost you $3000 or more. If she just gets a run of the mill illness, paying cash for a doctor would be more like $150, considerably less than paying for insurance out of your pocket.

Just some things to consider.