no health insurance

[Omar G. 4]

well we are thinking alittle in advance here, since out visa interview is this tuesday april 14. i am a independent contractor and do not have any health insurance. even once my fiance arrives, she will not have health insurance. we want to have a baby very soon once she arrives but without health insurance, we really cant afford to have a baby. i was thinking about paying for an insurance only for her durring pregnancy and then after for her and baby but i cant afford it. from what i have seen and heard it will cost me about $500 a month and thats too much for me. i dont make very much money but enough for us to get by but living pay check to pay check and maybe saving alittle extra but no where near $500. Since i filed and signed the I-134 assuring that my fiance will not be a public charge, are there any government help programs that we can apply for? not welfare but just a health insurance for the mother to be and baby. are there any programs that are available for people in this situation after filing a I-134? any help will be greatly appriciated. thank you

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

We looked into private health insurance and found that very few reputable private insurers will cover pregnancy; the only one we found was Blue Cross Blue Shield, and even they will not insure us for maternity cover as we had infertility treatment to conceive the twins (they won't cover even a naturally conceived pregnancy because of this)- plus like you said, private health insurance is expensive. I did some research and even a simple, no-complications pregnancy and birth with minimal 24 hours hospital stay will cost 10-000+ dollars, so health insurance is still cheaper...

Of course if you are married, and you have health insurance through your job, they will have to cover your wife's pregnancy, so you may want to look into changing jobs, or your fiance getting a job before you guys trying to get pregnant.

Edited April 12, 2009 by Penguin_ie

[Hannah+Vito 0]

Go through every insurer you can find including kaiser (spelling) and get quotes and check carefully what they cover. You may get lucky.

[mrsjohnsonscat 7]

New York State has a program called Healthy New York which is for families and Child Care Plus which is for children, I would not be surprised if many other states have something similar. It's means tested, which means you will have to pay something depending on your income.

Depending on where you are, you may find some doctors aren't too fond of it, because they get a lower amount of money than they would with private insurance; however I am of the thinking that it is better to receive less money upfront, than to have people turn up at the emergency room about to have a baby and then receive nothing, because they have no insurance. Even if they take a repayment plan, $5 -$10K is a lot of money to wait for at $25 a month.

Good luck.

[Rob&Dawn 1]

Just before i arrived in the US i found out i was expecting and no insurance company would cover the pregnancy care.

i had looked into HRSA healthcare which provides inexpensive healthcare. But i am now under a OBGYN who quoted a set fee for all the pre-natal care on a self pay system and although i was expecting to pay $5000-10000. to have the baby i am only paying $2100, although this will go upto $2300 if i need a C-section.

I needed some medication and the midwife ensured my prescription was for the $4 medication as i was self-paying.

It is worth looking into womens healthcare in your area and ask specifically for a pre-natal price on self pay basis, alternatively look to see if there is anything near you under the HRSA.

[scandal 951]

well we are thinking alittle in advance here, since out visa interview is this tuesday april 14. i am a independent contractor and do not have any health insurance. even once my fiance arrives, she will not have health insurance. we want to have a baby very soon once she arrives but without health insurance, we really cant afford to have a baby. i was thinking about paying for an insurance only for her durring pregnancy and then after for her and baby but i cant afford it. from what i have seen and heard it will cost me about $500 a month and thats too much for me. i dont make very much money but enough for us to get by but living pay check to pay check and maybe saving alittle extra but no where near $500. Since i filed and signed the I-134 assuring that my fiance will not be a public charge, are there any government help programs that we can apply for? not welfare but just a health insurance for the mother to be and baby. are there any programs that are available for people in this situation after filing a I-134? any help will be greatly appriciated. thank you

You should look into SCHIP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Childre...surance_Program

This is a federal program of matching funds to state insurance plans.

Basically, it's meant to cover children (and I think in some cases pregnant women) who don't have private coverage and don't qualify for medicaid.

Which state do you live in? Eligibility is based upon what your state covers.

Also, I don't know if your I-134 precludes your eligibility for SCHIP. Still, it's definitely worth checking out.

[ricebird 0]

I got pregnant right away when I got here in the US and it's hard for me to get health insurance because most insurer would require 12 months of membership/premium paid before you can avail the maternity benefits. We do self-pay; don't have any option after many attempts of searching and inquiring for private insurance.

There's one however called Women, Infant, Children (WIC) program which helped income-qualified pregnant women. A friend in California was able to avail this insurance when she got pregnant right away eventhough she was still in adjusting of status process (she entered US in K-1 visa). The local Health Department also has affordable pre-natal care and refers you to affordable birthing centers and hospitals - you can check with your county health department. If I found out about this before, we might've been spared of paying $10,000 on my pregnancy and delivery.

[kaffy 2]

we really cant afford to have a baby.

Please don't take this the wrong way but if you can't afford it now, then you should do the sensible thing and wait until you can

[Omar G. 4]

thank you everyone for the help and ideas. im going to look into some different programs that PA has to offer. i just assumed that since we have a I-134 affidavit of support that we wouldnt qualify at all for any such help.

we really cant afford to have a baby.

Please don't take this the wrong way but if you can't afford it now, then you should do the sensible thing and wait until you can

the thing is that i CAN afford to have a child and all expenses that a child has but i cannot afford the to pay a private health insurance almost a monthly rent payment in addition to my other expenses. with my income paying an additional 500 dollars a month isnt that easy just for health insurance. i cannot change professions and look for a job that will give me health insurance because i will 1, this is not the time to do so (economy wise), and 2 i like what i do and enjoy my work. we have waited for years because of our financial situation living in Colombia but now we see the oportunity but without any kind of health insurance it is impossible. so we are planning accordingly until it is time to have one. i know that i will never have health insurance which doesnt bother me, but for my pregnant wife and baby it is important. i have heard of the CHIP program for children but dont know if it also applies for pregnant mothers to be....

[happywifeymom 4]

I got pregnant right away when I got here in the US and it's hard for me to get health insurance because most insurer would require 12 months of membership/premium paid before you can avail the maternity benefits. We do self-pay; don't have any option after many attempts of searching and inquiring for private insurance.

There's one however called Women, Infant, Children (WIC) program which helped income-qualified pregnant women. A friend in California was able to avail this insurance when she got pregnant right away eventhough she was still in adjusting of status process (she entered US in K-1 visa). The local Health Department also has affordable pre-natal care and refers you to affordable birthing centers and hospitals - you can check with your county health department. If I found out about this before, we might've been spared of paying $10,000 on my pregnancy and delivery.

I tried to apply for that WIC but was not qualified coz they said my husband makes too much money and that time we didnt have insurance and so i decided to gave birth in the Philippines,, glad i did coz i had a C section and we would have been paying the hospital bills for years if igave birth here.

[SuperDuper! 230]

I got pregnant right away when I got here in the US and it's hard for me to get health insurance because most insurer would require 12 months of membership/premium paid before you can avail the maternity benefits. We do self-pay; don't have any option after many attempts of searching and inquiring for private insurance.

There's one however called Women, Infant, Children (WIC) program which helped income-qualified pregnant women. A friend in California was able to avail this insurance when she got pregnant right away eventhough she was still in adjusting of status process (she entered US in K-1 visa). The local Health Department also has affordable pre-natal care and refers you to affordable birthing centers and hospitals - you can check with your county health department. If I found out about this before, we might've been spared of paying $10,000 on my pregnancy and delivery.

So WIC is not considered a public charge under the I-134 affidavit that petitioner signs? It is primarily a baby formula program for kids under 5. I heard that OctoMom applied for it cuz her formula bill alone is $2000 USD/month. I dont know if WIC is considered a Public Assistance or Welfare program, and therefore a charge to the public, a public charge. Who pays for OctoMom's big monthly WIC bill if not the public?

[Sylvia_n_Joseph 3]

You say you can afford a child what will you do if the child has special needs or becomes sick and needs to go to the hospital. What if your wife gets sick. You need to plan for the unexpected.

[rmncm 0]

Several things first. Once the child is born you can get medical coverage through you health and welfare office, you signed the aos for your wife/husband, not you or the baby. Second, on the day you baby is born you can apply for emergency medicare through health and welfare, this program is not covered under the aos as it is a emergency program. The main thing you need to worry about is prenatal care, check around and you will find many programs that will help out regardless of imigration status.

[blue123 0]

well we are thinking alittle in advance here, since out visa interview is this tuesday april 14. i am a independent contractor and do not have any health insurance. even once my fiance arrives, she will not have health insurance. we want to have a baby very soon once she arrives but without health insurance, we really cant afford to have a baby. i was thinking about paying for an insurance only for her durring pregnancy and then after for her and baby but i cant afford it. from what i have seen and heard it will cost me about $500 a month and thats too much for me. i dont make very much money but enough for us to get by but living pay check to pay check and maybe saving alittle extra but no where near $500. Since i filed and signed the I-134 assuring that my fiance will not be a public charge, are there any government help programs that we can apply for? not welfare but just a health insurance for the mother to be and baby. are there any programs that are available for people in this situation after filing a I-134? any help will be greatly appriciated. thank you

Try www.nriol.net

[blue123 0]

well we are thinking alittle in advance here, since out visa interview is this tuesday april 14. i am a independent contractor and do not have any health insurance. even once my fiance arrives, she will not have health insurance. we want to have a baby very soon once she arrives but without health insurance, we really cant afford to have a baby. i was thinking about paying for an insurance only for her durring pregnancy and then after for her and baby but i cant afford it. from what i have seen and heard it will cost me about $500 a month and thats too much for me. i dont make very much money but enough for us to get by but living pay check to pay check and maybe saving alittle extra but no where near $500. Since i filed and signed the I-134 assuring that my fiance will not be a public charge, are there any government help programs that we can apply for? not welfare but just a health insurance for the mother to be and baby. are there any programs that are available for people in this situation after filing a I-134? any help will be greatly appriciated. thank you

I was looking at this site, gives you immediate quote and has plans available for up to 2 years. Depends on amount of couverage you are looking for but lots of plans well under USD100 a month. Hope this helps. http://www.nriol.net/immigrant-health-insurance/