health insurance and other resources for mother?

[Ryan1 0]

My wife (once she becomes US citizen) eventually will want to bring her mother to US. We were wondering about health insurance?

I imagine she will not qualify for medicare b/c not enought work time in US? Maybe she could get Medicare but have to pay all premium, which is i think like 700 per month?

Anybody have experience with getting health insurance for aging parent who you recently brought to the US?

On another note, she may qualify for SSI from SSA, even though recent entered US?

The health insurance question is most important. she has great health insurance in her own country, but if we have to eventually bring her here to US (b/c she'll be alone), we fear about her quality of health care here?

cheers,

[Boiler 46,103]

If she is rich or you are, no problem. There is the Commercial market.

Otherwise there are some local schemes, Mass? I think has one, when you can get basic cover. CA may have something similar. How good they are or how long they will continue for is something I do not know.

[Ryan1 0]

so in other words, my mother in law comes , she would come in as US Perman. resident, and there is no way to get her health insurance? we are not rich.... (I could spare 500 per month)

she will be like 70... so you kniow... what does one do? Of course she will need Health care eventually? do they leave her on the street?

[Boiler 46,103]

Hospitals are required to treat serious issues.

But only enough to get you out the door.

At 70 the cost for Insurance is going to be significant, and only go higher, USA is not somehwere to be if you are old and infirm, especially if you do not have access to good healthcare. Insurance Premiums are just the start, co-pays and limitations/exclusions add to the bill.

You need to check what may be available locally, obviously that varies significantly.

[NickD 203]

Hospitals are required to treat serious issues.

But only enough to get you out the door.

At 70 the cost for Insurance is going to be significant, and only go higher, USA is not somehwere to be if you are old and infirm, especially if you do not have access to good healthcare. Insurance Premiums are just the start, co-pays and limitations/exclusions add to the bill.

You need to check what may be available locally, obviously that varies significantly.

What a terrible subject to bring up. As a self employed person with a family of six was paying about 90 bucks a month for a non-deductible full coverage policy. Today, just my wife and myself, paying more like $14,000.00 per year and still have to fight to get certain tests done. But who even needed health insurance back then, average cost for a new baby was around $400.00 bucks and kept the mom in for close to a week with food and room service for 40 bucks a day, couldn't get a motel room that cheap and we paid a buck extra a night for a private room. Today a shared room costs 3,000 bucks a night and that is for the same exact room when it was 40 bucks a night? A doctor's visit was five bucks. Ha, last year had flu like symptoms, wife insisted I go in, already knew what the doctor was going to say, a virus, drink plenty of liquids and take an Advil, got the insurance bill, 495 bucks for that short visit, it's crazy!

Today, we have that infamous 39 hour work week, no benefits, no health insurance with 44 million reported Americans without any health insurance, think it's far more than that. Instead of bringing your mom here, ever think about moving in with her? Sure crossing my mind lately. Wife's mom is paying 200 bucks a month for full health insurance coverage, lives in a nice brick home and paying a hundred bucks a year for property taxes, don't even mention property taxes to me. And there universities are free if a student has a good grade point average. We just enrolled our daughter into college here, almost got a heart attack, state university claims, not getting the bucks from the state, and state claims not getting the bucks from the feds, all going to Iraq. So why are we living here?

[Dr. Obvious 49]

If she still has family in Cuba that can care for her and she does have good health coverage there, she would probably be better off staying there and you and your wife just sending some money to help with her care every month.

[Mononoke28 135]

Ryan,

You can start calling different places like Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA, Kaiser Permanente, etc. and ask for quotes over the phone. The monthly payment will be high for sure, especially since she's older. But it would be a gamble to bring her over here to live if she gets a major illness and you can't cover the costs of treatment or hospital stay.

Diana