Pregnant - Which Health insurance is better for me?

[Mags 112]

Unfortunately, and this applies to all of us, use of public programs may trigger a requirement for your husband to reimburse them. Remember all those support agreements/contracts/guarantees that you would not become a public charge? Best thing to do, and a suggestion only, is to wait a few days, allow insurance to kick in, or as was suggested earlier, just visit a doctor and pay up front (ouchie-just had a wallet cramp).

Pregnancies are generally not considered pre-existing conditions.

As Mags said, Medicaid is not considered a public charge.

Exactly. Something people routinely seem to miss here on VJ!!

[athena_ny 1]

Unfortunately, and this applies to all of us, use of public programs may trigger a requirement for your husband to reimburse them. Remember all those support agreements/contracts/guarantees that you would not become a public charge? Best thing to do, and a suggestion only, is to wait a few days, allow insurance to kick in, or as was suggested earlier, just visit a doctor and pay up front (ouchie-just had a wallet cramp).

Pregnancies are generally not considered pre-existing conditions.

As Mags said, Medicaid is not considered a public charge.

Exactly. Something people routinely seem to miss here on VJ!!

VJ: Reading Optional.

[Alt name 1]

For the OP, from the form I-864P, I copied directly:

(the I-864P is the form that gives the poverty guidelines for sponsors filing I-864). You can find it in the immigration forms section at the top.

Federal Means-Tested Public Benefits: (these are the ones they will eyeball your sponsor's pocket for re-imbursement)

To Date, Federal Agencies administering benefit programs have determined that Federal Means-Tested Public benefits include:

Food Stamps, Medicaid, SSI, TANF, and SCHIP

Emergency medicaid is excluded and does not fall under the "means-tested" definition.

There is no clear description of what constitutes emergency medicaid and what constitutes just medicaid.

Bestg of luck to you

Mags:

Giving accurate information from real sources with real words that are factual is also optional. Keep up the good work!! You have added yet another underwhelming nugget of value to the VJ forums and as always, your input is deeply appreciated.

[Nanusia & Lukaszek 0]

Filing for Medicaid and getting approved takes months. Its not something you get instantly just because you tell them you are pregnant. If you will be covered by your husband's insurance soon after the new year, filing Medicaid would be pointless.

Also, I see you are anxious to go to the dr with pre-natal visits. But so early on, I didnt think they were required that often?? If you go to an emergency room and say you want a prenatal check up, they will most likely send you home. The emergency room is for treating emergencies. I was in the ER earlier this yr and saw them sending a couple people home that complained of problems that could wait to see a normal doctor (non life threatening) like a sprain. Also, if you go the ER, your going to get stuck with a pretty nice bill$$. I think just getting admitted is around $2500.

If you really want to see a obgyn that bad and dont have insurance (or aren't sure if it will be retroactive), you can call the Dr's office and tell them you dont have insurance, frequently they can offer you a visit at a fraction of the price they bill insurance companies.

Good luck, and congrats on the pregnancy

[yassmine2878 1]

You should be eligible for Medicaid. But - like with any other state or federal sponsored program the state or federal government can charge your husband for the expenses they covered. They might want to have their money back.

So, it makes no difference if you pay for it yourself, use Medicaid and get charged later or if you just wait until your husband and you are covered by his insurance through his new employer.

Nope, you can claim Medicaid without it being claimed back by the goverment (if you are eligible, of course). It isn't one of the things that is considered a public charge by USCIS

http://www.cms.gov There are many different aspects of Medicaid such as spend-down and baby-caid that may also be available to you. You can apply for Medicaid coverage now and talk to your OB/GYN about an appointment in the meantime. Some doctors will gladly accept you while you have Medicaid pending. They hold the claims until you provide your Medicaid number for billig. Depending on your state you can apply for multiple benefits at once. For instance in Texas you just dial 2-1-1.

If you have not yet chosen an OB, ask your hubby to inquire of the ladies at work who they use. I did a poll around my office to see which doctors specialised high-risk and it was ten times easier than hunting on my own. Another woman's first-hand experience is very valuable.

As for commerical insurance, you may not get much choice with hubby's work. Some companies offer a few choices, some offer none. After spending almost 8 years in the industry, I would recommend Blue Cross Blue Shield or Aetna, and stay away from United Healthcare and Unicare. But that's if you're given a choice (which I hope you are).

Good luck and best wishes for a safe and happy pregnancy!

[Caladan 19]

For the OP, from the form I-864P, I copied directly:

(the I-864P is the form that gives the poverty guidelines for sponsors filing I-864). You can find it in the immigration forms section at the top.

Federal Means-Tested Public Benefits: (these are the ones they will eyeball your sponsor's pocket for re-imbursement)

To Date, Federal Agencies administering benefit programs have determined that Federal Means-Tested Public benefits include:

Food Stamps, Medicaid, SSI, TANF, and SCHIP

Emergency medicaid is excluded and does not fall under the "means-tested" definition.

There is no clear description of what constitutes emergency medicaid and what constitutes just medicaid.

Bestg of luck to you

Mags:

Giving accurate information from real sources with real words that are factual is also optional. Keep up the good work!! You have added yet another underwhelming nugget of value to the VJ forums and as always, your input is deeply appreciated.

If you read the I-864, you know it doesn't say 'no immigrants may use means-tested benefits ever.' Page 6 -- it says the sponsor's support is counted when determining eligibility. In a lot of cases, that would mean that the sponsor's 125% of poverty-level-support, would make the immigrant ineligible.

In other cases, not necessarily. The important thing to keep in mind is that it's not a ban on public services, it's just saying that the bar will be higher for the immigrant because the sponsor's promise will be counted as income.

To quote from the rest of the I-864P:

State Means-Tested Public Benefits. Each State will determine which, if any, of its public benefits are means-tested. If a State determines that it has programs which meet this definition, it is encouraged to provide notice to the public on which programs are included. Check with the State public assistance office to determine which, if any, State assistance programs have been determined to be State means-tested public benefits.

The following Federal and State programs are not included as means-tested benefits: emergency Medicaid; short-term, non-cash emergency relief; services provided under the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts;immunizations and testing and treatment for communicable diseases; student assistance under the Higher Education Act and thePublic Health Service Act; certain forms of foster-care or adoption assistance under the Social Security Act; Head Start Programs; means-tested programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and Job Training Partnership Act programs.

Most state 'welfare' type programs tend to err on the side of not having unborn American citizens screwed over. (It also matters as to whether the benefit would count as the mom's or the baby's. Birth is often retroactive to the child.) It likely very much depends on the benefit. Some are means-tested and set at poverty level. Others aren't. There's really no way to make an accurate generalization given that each state sets its own laws. The OP should look up the well-baby and pregnancy services in her state to see.

I agree, though, that Medicaid is unlikely to be the most useful source here if it requires being approved, both for paperwork reasons and I-864-related reasons. Nanusia & Lukaszek have the right idea. If the OP is going to be covered in a month (i.e., before all the expensive stuff), tell the doctor she doesn't have insurance when scheduling the checkup. Usually, the cost will come down significantly.