My Wife's Son Arrives!

[visaveteran1 33]

My wife's son arrived in the US last Thursday. It was quite a deal getting him here. Typical USCIS crappola.

He is a great young man and I like him very much. This is his first trip to the US, and he has his immigration visa and is getting his real GC, probably in a few weeks. However, he'll only be staying a month this time for various reasons, including how he likes it here.

Based on his first days here, he loves it and is adapting well. His English is bad...but he's young and will learn quickly. I have mixed feelings about him staying here because I'm an old dude and like my peace and quiet. But I'm also a human being and if he stays, he stays. I'll adjust.

There is one HUGE issue that I don't know how to solve...health insurance. I get my med care via the military (TriCare) and medicare. My wife get's her care through the military too as my spouse. But Alexey just turned 21 and he's not a student, so he cannot get TriCare or military health care. So...I don't know what to do because I can't afford to pay $2000-$3000 a year to cover him. My wife looks like she may soon make some money but not a big amount...so she can't really help.

I'm wondering if anyone else out there has dealt with this insurance deal? And how did they resolve the issue? Looking for advice, feedback, suggestions.

[eekee 182]

Sadly, I don't think there is any way around this, unless he'd qualify for medicaid. The best you can hope for is that the laws will change in your state--I get covered under my family's plan until 27.

Did you get an actual quote for his insurance? What about a job like Starbucks that does actually provide benefits? Otherwise he'll end up like most of my generation, i.e., uninsured and praying nothing happens.

I do know people who have become full-time students for the purpose of getting insurance, but I am not sure if that would last very long for him due to his already being 21. I would research the specifics.

Edited September 5, 2011 by eekee

[james&olya 1,121]

My wife's son arrived in the US last Thursday. It was quite a deal getting him here. Typical USCIS crappola.

He is a great young man and I like him very much. This is his first trip to the US, and he has his immigration visa and is getting his real GC, probably in a few weeks. However, he'll only be staying a month this time for various reasons, including how he likes it here.

Based on his first days here, he loves it and is adapting well. His English is bad...but he's young and will learn quickly. I have mixed feelings about him staying here because I'm an old dude and like my peace and quiet. But I'm also a human being and if he stays, he stays. I'll adjust.

There is one HUGE issue that I don't know how to solve...health insurance. I get my med care via the military (TriCare) and medicare. My wife get's her care through the military too as my spouse. But Alexey just turned 21 and he's not a student, so he cannot get TriCare or military health care. So...I don't know what to do because I can't afford to pay $2000-$3000 a year to cover him. My wife looks like she may soon make some money but not a big amount...so she can't really help.

I'm wondering if anyone else out there has dealt with this insurance deal? And how did they resolve the issue? Looking for advice, feedback, suggestions.

Keep voting republican and supporting repeal of 'Obamacare'! Oh, wait, you want affordable health care for a family member. That's a tough one!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My wife's son arrived in the US last Thursday. It was quite a deal getting him here. Typical USCIS crappola.

He is a great young man and I like him very much. This is his first trip to the US, and he has his immigration visa and is getting his real GC, probably in a few weeks. However, he'll only be staying a month this time for various reasons, including how he likes it here.

Based on his first days here, he loves it and is adapting well. His English is bad...but he's young and will learn quickly. I have mixed feelings about him staying here because I'm an old dude and like my peace and quiet. But I'm also a human being and if he stays, he stays. I'll adjust.

There is one HUGE issue that I don't know how to solve...health insurance. I get my med care via the military (TriCare) and medicare. My wife get's her care through the military too as my spouse. But Alexey just turned 21 and he's not a student, so he cannot get TriCare or military health care. So...I don't know what to do because I can't afford to pay $2000-$3000 a year to cover him. My wife looks like she may soon make some money but not a big amount...so she can't really help.

I'm wondering if anyone else out there has dealt with this insurance deal? And how did they resolve the issue? Looking for advice, feedback, suggestions.

Sergey is 20 and can be covered by my insurance until age 23 if he is a student.

Look at it this way...enroll him in community college, for English if nothing else, get him on the insurance and you get up to a $2600 tax credit, refundable even if you do not have to pay tax. Rather than pay $2500 for insurance, pay it for school, he will benefit and you will get it all back.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Keep voting republican and supporting repeal of 'Obamacare'! Oh, wait, you want affordable health care for a family member. That's a tough one!

You were right the first time, Obamacare is hardly affordable.

I will suggest again you move to Vermont. Your wife could practice her trade much more easily and the plan is for us to have a statewide single payer plan in place before we are forced into Obamacare, Vermont has already applied to opt out

We also have Fletcher Allen Health Care, a huge medical complex, and they give free care to any Vermont resident and residents of two counties of New York who earn less than $8000 per month for a family of four (income cut off varies by family size)and it is for the hospital as well as there clinics of every kind. They are supported by taxes, the University of Vermont and Canadians coming here to pay cash to escape Canadian national healthcare (I love it when Canadians try to deny this and I have virtually free health care because of it )

Congratulations on your son's arrival.

[james&olya 1,121]

You were right the first time, Obamacare is hardly affordable.

I will suggest again you move to Vermont. Your wife could practice her trade much more easily and the plan is for us to have a statewide single payer plan in place before we are forced into Obamacare, Vermont has already applied to opt out

We also have Fletcher Allen Health Care, a huge medical complex, and they give free care to any Vermont resident and residents of two counties of New York who earn less than $8000 per month for a family of four (income cut off varies by family size)and it is for the hospital as well as there clinics of every kind. They are supported by taxes, the University of Vermont and Canadians coming here to pay cash to escape Canadian national healthcare (I love it when Canadians try to deny this and I have virtually free health care because of it )

Congratulations on your son's arrival.

Gary, when you criticize 'Obamacare' while touting single payer statewide health insurance, you are in company not with republicans who want nothing to do with such egalitarian plans, but rather those to the left of Obama, the true progressives! But I am glad to see you supporting the only fair and sensible way to provide health care! I agree that Obamacare will probably prove unworkable and unaffordable by its central reliance on private, for-profit, (greedy, shady, etc....) insurance companies!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary, when you criticize 'Obamacare' while touting single payer statewide health insurance, you are in company not with republicans who want nothing to do with such egalitarian plans, but rather those to the left of Obama, the true progressives! But I am glad to see you supporting the only fair and sensible way to provide health care! I agree that Obamacare will probably prove unworkable and unaffordable by its central reliance on private, for-profit, (greedy, shady, etc....) insurance companies!

I have NEVER EVER claimed to be a Republican and am not one. I am an American and a Vermontois!

I support the plan Vermont is doing, it is a STATE plan and our state is far better at doing anything than the Feds. Thank goodness for the Green Mountain Boys that a hurricane hitting our state is kind of a "ho-hum" event. The GMBs were dropping in supplies to isolated town the morning after the storm. Just a few hours after it passed. Better than waiting for the Feds in Louisiana, eh? All the roads are patched up and will be fixed permanently soon. The state healthcare plan will also be a lot easier for the people to get hold of and CHANGE if needed.

I am against our medical care being handled by the FEDERAL government.

[james&olya 1,121]

I have NEVER EVER claimed to be a Republican and am not one. I am an American and a Vermontois!

I support the plan Vermont is doing, it is a STATE plan and our state is far better at doing anything than the Feds. Thank goodness for the Green Mountain Boys that a hurricane hitting our state is kind of a "ho-hum" event. The GMBs were dropping in supplies to isolated town the morning after the storm. Just a few hours after it passed. Better than waiting for the Feds in Louisiana, eh? All the roads are patched up and will be fixed permanently soon. The state healthcare plan will also be a lot easier for the people to get hold of and CHANGE if needed.

I am against our medical care being handled by the FEDERAL government.

I hope Vermont is successful! Even the tea party fringe might come around at that point and turn on their corporate puppet-masters!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I hope Vermont is successful! Even the tea party fringe might come around at that point and turn on their corporate puppet-masters!

Me too! I have been tempted many times to drop our medical insurance entirely. If I did not have considerable prescription costs I could drop it entirely. FAHC does not cover prescriptions and does not have dental care, but we use them for all our other medical care. They are also Alla's biggest client for interpretation. They pay her $35 per hour and do not charge the patients for her service. They maintain a group of on-call interpreters in various languages as independent contractors.

[james&olya 1,121]

I am against our medical care being handled by the FEDERAL government.

You don't plan on using Medicare? Apparently vv gets both medicare and tricare, both federal programs. Statistics show that while every program has those dis-satisfied, medicare has a higher percent of satisfaction than private, for-profit insurance companies. The reason is that while they are concerned with costs, an equal concern has to do with customer satisfaction. Private insurance, on the other hand, can ignore whether people filing large claims are satisfied, they cater instead to the healthy that they hope will never file a claim.

OP, I do hope you find a good solution for your step-son! I faced a similar problem here when my fiancee's daughter developed seizures the 2nd day here! We were able to get her covered under my supposedly good BC/BS policy by marrying immediately but the MRI, EEG, and specialist visit several weeks later ran to almost $5000.00, only about 10% covered by my policy! I work in health-care and see the insurance company abuses all the time. I, like Gary, support the idea of universal single payer coverage for everyone, whether state run or a 'medicare-for-all' kind of program.

Edited September 6, 2011 by james&olya

[bigdog 376]

Get him in school to get on your insurance. i avoided this by our son staying in China and finishing college. Yea for Skype.

[slim 1,530]

he'll only be staying a month this time

There is one HUGE issue that I don't know how to solve...health insurance.

Don't worry about it if he's only staying for a month.

When he comes back, he can figure it out for himself. He's a big boy, right?

I'd say at 21, he probably doesn't even need it. But, if he's sickly or prone to accidents, a full-time job wouldn't hurt and if he goes to school he can be covered through schools. They always have a discount program of some sort.

If none of that works... Uncle Sam is always hiring!

[sea-monkey 13]

Yeah, if he gets sick, there are always free clinics poor or illegals go to.

Do what the illegals do. They've seem to manage ok. Illegals can get prenatal care, give birth at hospitals, free meds and all that other stuff without insurance or paying a dime.

[james&olya 1,121]

Do what the illegals do. They've seem to manage ok. Illegals can get prenatal care, give birth at hospitals, free meds and all that other stuff without insurance or paying a dime.

It is dishonest and dishonorable to avail yourself of services and then not pay your bill!! It is no different whether it is health care, car repairs, groceries or a new stereo, not paying is equal to theft! If you are truly indigent then maybe you have no choice, otherwise it is crooked!

[1HappyGuy 45]

The problem is his son isn't an illegal.

But it seems as if he will have time to resolve the dilemma when his son returns back to the USA. In the mean time, one month here will probably result in illness from food rather than some real problem.