Health insurance for the wealthy

[mawilson 2,133]

What kind of health insurance can a wealthy retired immigrant get in the U.S.?

By "wealthy" I mean someone who has retired with maybe a million dollars in their

bank accounts, not a billionaire like Trump or Bill Gates.

Should they even bother with insurance? Hospital bills can be expensive - especially

as you get older, you don't really want to start shelling out tens of thousands of dollars

left and right, even if you can afford it.

I don't really know how this works. Anyone?

[Texanadian 10]

I believe you can buy Medicare insurance just like any retired US citizen who worked in the US can. The difference is that you'd be paying about $500/month for the coverage.

Otherwise, start hitting up all the US insurance companies and see what they give you for price quotes.

[Alex+R 0]

Heh, in what world is someone old with $1 million saved a "wealthy" immigrant? Sounds like a lot of people, and you'd still be struggling to make ends meet.

[mawilson 2,133]

Heh, in what world is someone old with $1 million saved a "wealthy" immigrant? Sounds like a lot of people, and you'd still be struggling to make ends meet.

I'm not sure if you're trying to be funny or serious.

[athena_ny 1]

Heh, in what world is someone old with $1 million saved a "wealthy" immigrant? Sounds like a lot of people, and you'd still be struggling to make ends meet.

I'm not sure if you're trying to be funny or serious.

Me neither. People with 1 million saved are wealthy immigrants in a lot of worlds.

I know I'll never have that much in my personal bank account.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Why wouldn't any wealthy person have health insurance? The average heart operation can easily run in the 2 to $300,000 range

[Alex+R 0]

Why wouldn't any wealthy person have health insurance? The average heart operation can easily run in the 2 to $300,000 range

That's actually what I was referring to. $1 million saved is not a level where you don't need health insurance. You just buy it. BFD. I don't even understand the original question.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Agreed, $1 million at retirement is hardly wealthy. Buy private insurance.

[Caladan 19]

How old is the immigrant? How is his or her health?

I'm guessing you included the $1million figure to let us know that the person has the means to purchase health insurance, so we're not having to limit ourselves to bargain-basement kinds of deals. Without knowing the specifics, it's hard to say, but insurance companies tend not to like to have older people in the risk pool because statistically they're a lot more likely to incur heavy medical costs. It should be buyable somewhere, but expect a heavy premium. (If no one wants to sell them insurance, I believe they can buy into Medicare.) First step should be to look into price quotes from insurance companies.

Insurance is definitely a necessity, and I'd say having one that comes with doctor's visits & regular checkups covered is no longer optional if your friend is older. High-deductible is great when you're young and never go to the doctor, but when you're old, things start breaking and needing regular maintenance. And $1 million goes up in smoke pretty fast should your friend have a heart attack or get diagnosed with cancer or any of the other things that start happening.

[peejay 327]

Just because someone wants to buy medical insurance doesn't mean that any company will choose to underwrite a policy for you. We are going through that scenario with my 22 year old stepdaughter now. She has been on C.O.B.R.A. from my work health insurance since she got too old to be on the family plan and got dropped. C.O.B.R.A. is only mandated by law to extend coverage on an existing plan for 36 months at extra cost. For those that don't know what COBRA is...it is a law that lets someone that loses health insurance through loss of employment or (in my stepdaughter's case) is too old to remain on the family coverage I get through work to remain insured. We were paying $241.33 a month extra to keep her covered on the COBRA policy. The 36 month period will end on January 31st for her and we are now trying to get her an individual health insurance policy. We have already been refused coverage by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and are waiting for word from an application at UniCare. I don't know what I'll do if she gets refused coverage by them too.

All of us that sponsored immigrants are financially responsible for public charges through the I-864 Affidavit of Support. One bad accident or serious illness could be a major problem if the government ever goes after you for emergency medical bills. Unfortunately we are responsible until they become US citizens. For my stepdaughter that is 2 years away before she can even file a N-400. Until then I'm on the hook.

[Caladan 19]

Just because someone wants to buy medical insurance doesn't mean that any company will choose to underwrite a policy for you. We are going through that scenario with my 22 year old stepdaughter now. She has been on C.O.B.R.A. from my work health insurance since she got too old to be on the family plan and got dropped. C.O.B.R.A. is only mandated by law to extend coverage on an existing plan for 36 months at extra cost. For those that don't know what COBRA is...it is a law that lets someone that loses health insurance through loss of employment or (in my stepdaughter's case) is too old to remain on the family coverage I get through work to remain insured. We were paying $241.33 a month extra to keep her covered on the COBRA policy. The 36 month period will end on January 31st for her and we are now trying to get her an individual health insurance policy. We have already been refused coverage by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and are waiting for word from an application at UniCare. I don't know what I'll do if she gets refused coverage by them too.

All of us that sponsored immigrants are financially responsible for public charges through the I-864 Affidavit of Support. One bad accident or serious illness could be a major problem if the government ever goes after you for emergency medical bills. Unfortunately we are responsible until they become US citizens. For my stepdaughter that is 2 years away before she can even file a N-400. Until then I'm on the hook.

peejay, I don't know if she has any pre-existing health conditions which might make finding coverage difficult, but I have a couple suggestions: 1) if she's young and in excellent health, pretty much all you are buying insurance against is the likelihood of an accident. A plan with a high deductible (~$5K) that has little day-to-day coverage but will cover all expenses in the case of a car crash might suffice until she manages to get employment. It's usually a little easier to get (because so much is out of pocket), and is more cost effective if she's not requiring constant doctor's visits or prescriptions. 2) Call up Blue Cross Blue Shield if you haven't already. A friend of mine (27, excellent health, no pre-existing conditions) recently had to purchase her own insurance and was denied the first time, but when she called them up, they reconsidered.

I know in some states that if you can document you've been unable to purchase health insurance (usually because of pre-existing conditions), you can get coverage through the state. (And this might be something a permanent resident is eligible for, since it's not means-tested.) I don't know if Texas has that kind of safety net, but it might be worth looking into as a stopgap until she lands a job (just finished college?) that has benefits.

[peejay 327]

Just because someone wants to buy medical insurance doesn't mean that any company will choose to underwrite a policy for you. We are going through that scenario with my 22 year old stepdaughter now. She has been on C.O.B.R.A. from my work health insurance since she got too old to be on the family plan and got dropped. C.O.B.R.A. is only mandated by law to extend coverage on an existing plan for 36 months at extra cost. For those that don't know what COBRA is...it is a law that lets someone that loses health insurance through loss of employment or (in my stepdaughter's case) is too old to remain on the family coverage I get through work to remain insured. We were paying $241.33 a month extra to keep her covered on the COBRA policy. The 36 month period will end on January 31st for her and we are now trying to get her an individual health insurance policy. We have already been refused coverage by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and are waiting for word from an application at UniCare. I don't know what I'll do if she gets refused coverage by them too.

All of us that sponsored immigrants are financially responsible for public charges through the I-864 Affidavit of Support. One bad accident or serious illness could be a major problem if the government ever goes after you for emergency medical bills. Unfortunately we are responsible until they become US citizens. For my stepdaughter that is 2 years away before she can even file a N-400. Until then I'm on the hook.

peejay, I don't know if she has any pre-existing health conditions which might make finding coverage difficult, but I have a couple suggestions: 1) if she's young and in excellent health, pretty much all you are buying insurance against is the likelihood of an accident. A plan with a high deductible (~$5K) that has little day-to-day coverage but will cover all expenses in the case of a car crash might suffice until she manages to get employment. It's usually a little easier to get (because so much is out of pocket), and is more cost effective if she's not requiring constant doctor's visits or prescriptions. 2) Call up Blue Cross Blue Shield if you haven't already. A friend of mine (27, excellent health, no pre-existing conditions) recently had to purchase her own insurance and was denied the first time, but when she called them up, they reconsidered.

I know in some states that if you can document you've been unable to purchase health insurance (usually because of pre-existing conditions), you can get coverage through the state. (And this might be something a permanent resident is eligible for, since it's not means-tested.) I don't know if Texas has that kind of safety net, but it might be worth looking into as a stopgap until she lands a job (just finished college?) that has benefits.

Unfortunately my stepdaughter suffers from mild seizures and is successfully treated with medication. This is more than likely the reason they do not want to cover her on an individual policy. Blue Cross Blue Shield did not want to underwrite any policy for her, not even a high deductible policy. I called to get them to reconsider, but they didn't want our business.

I have always gotten health insurance through my employers' health plans all of my adult life and never had to go find an individual policy. This is new to me. I have found out that Texas does not have any laws that mandate that companies must provide coverage to extend existing coverage. Some states do, but Texas does not. It is all "at will". Once you get kicked off a group policy (through loss of work, COBRA, etc.) you are at their mercy. Nothing is mandated by law in Texas.

The insurance agent I applied for UniCare through told me if they decline to cover her we can apply for health insurance (at jacked up rates) through a risk pool. We are not at that point yet so I do not know what to expect from that scenario or whether they will even cover her in that. It will take about a week for the UniCare application to be vetted and a decision whether to cover her rendered. I learn as I go.

There is also the Harris county Gold Card program through the public clinics in the Harris County Hospital District. They do take legal immigrants, but it is only offered to the indigent. I'm not sure if her income is low enough. That would be our last resort if I can't get a private plan.

As far as her situation. I could keep her on my family health plan at work until age 24 if she were a full time college student. My wife and I paid 100% for her to go to community college full time, but the girl won't go to classes and flunked out 3 years ago. She gravitates toward employment that offers zero benefits...just a pay check. What can I do? You can lead a horse to water...but you can't make them drink.

It is sufficient to say that when you marry someone you get all the baggage that goes with it. The foreigner aspect requiring the I-864 just adds to it. We will make do somehow. A lot of this situation is out of my hands and there is very little I can do about it except to say that I tried to do the right thing.

[mawilson 2,133]

Why wouldn't any wealthy person have health insurance? The average heart operation can easily run in the 2 to $300,000 range

That's actually what I was referring to. $1 million saved is not a level where you don't need health insurance. You just buy it. BFD. I don't even understand the original question.

I see what you mean. $1m was just an order of magnitude estimate, the actual number may

be higher.

Perhaps I should have used "well-off" instead of "wealthy". However, to answer your question

(in what world ...), $1m is wealthy in the world of immigrants. The word "immigrants"

doesn't exactly evoke images of multi-million dollar bank accounts.

Anyway, $1m or not, how much money do you think a person needs not to bother with health

insurance?

Which brings us back to the original question: would health insurance save you money if you're

70 years old and just arrived here?

It the answer is "yes", then it doesn't matter if you're have $1m or $100m in your account -

you'd still want to get it.

[rebeccajo 14]

I'd have to be pretty rich before I ever went without health insurance in this country by choice.

At today's prices, I'm talking like.....11 figures or better.

Why would a wealthy person want to put themselves in the same position as a lot of the working class poor?

Edited January 27, 2008 by rebeccajo

[mawilson 2,133]

Why wouldn't any wealthy person have health insurance? The average heart operation can easily run in the 2 to $300,000 range

Good question.

Let's forget about the $1m limit for a second and pretend you have unlimited funds at your disposal.

You want the best healthcare that money can buy.

Do you really want an insurance company to tell you what you can and cannot do?

Maybe you do, I just don't know. Does Bill Gates have an HMO or PPO?