Health insurance/benefits for new immigrants

[Kcubas10 0]

Hello all. I am a United States citizen and planning to petition for my father to come live in the United States. He is 58 yrs old and in relatively good health. Just trying to think ahead, so my question is if there would be any way for him to apply for health insurance/medicare/medicaid etc. once he is here. We are fully prepared to pay monthly bill for the insurance. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[bigdog 376]

I noticed a age limit on the social security web site and a prior post on some kind of immigrant insurance. Good Luck.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hello all. I am a United States citizen and planning to petition for my father to come live in the United States. He is 58 yrs old and in relatively good health. Just trying to think ahead, so my question is if there would be any way for him to apply for health insurance/medicare/medicaid etc. once he is here. We are fully prepared to pay monthly bill for the insurance. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Once he's in the United States you should be able to apply for private health insurance for him. Be prepared for a difficult screening process. Health insurance companies are not required to offer a policy to everyone who applies. Any history of chronic health problems or mental illness will result in deep scrutiny of his application, and a likely substantial increase in policy premiums. Any history of serious illness, like heart disease or cancer, could result in being denied completely. The odds of someone needing expensive medical treatments increase substantially after age 50. Don't be surprised if you get quotes over $1000 a month. You can often get the premium reduced if you'll accept a higher deductible.

[kcoyclay1 98]

Hello all. I am a United States citizen and planning to petition for my father to come live in the United States. He is 58 yrs old and in relatively good health. Just trying to think ahead, so my question is if there would be any way for him to apply for health insurance/medicare/medicaid etc. once he is here. We are fully prepared to pay monthly bill for the insurance. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

I do not think that the can get social security benefits, because he has not worked nor is qualified for that. Medicare starts at age 65 - unless you are on disability - and he has not worked in the US to be qualified for that either. Concerning medicaid, he may be able to get coverage. I do not know how your state handles that and each state differs. You will have to find out.

[kcoyclay1 98]

Once he's in the United States you should be able to apply for private health insurance for him. Be prepared for a difficult screening process. Health insurance companies are not required to offer a policy to everyone who applies. Any history of chronic health problems or mental illness will result in deep scrutiny of his application, and a likely substantial increase in policy premiums. Any history of serious illness, like heart disease or cancer, could result in being denied completely. The odds of someone needing expensive medical treatments increase substantially after age 50. Don't be surprised if you get quotes over $1000 a month. You can often get the premium reduced if you'll accept a higher deductible.

I don't think they deny persons for previous health conditions. I had cancer, and I have been given health insurance. Life insurance is where there is a lot of scrutiny and a higher premium if it has been under seven years since treatment.

[kcoyclay1 98]

I also noted that EmblemHealth in NY has an insurance for previous condition; however, the applicant will have to have medical records sent to prove their condition and not have had an insurance for the past 6 months. As a prospective new resident, I don't think he would qualify immediately, and, again, I do not know what your state offers.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I do not think that the can get social security benefits, because he has not worked nor is qualified for that. Medicare starts at age 65 - unless you are on disability - and he has not worked in the US to be qualified for that either. Concerning medicaid, he may be able to get coverage. I do not know how your state handles that and each state differs. You will have to find out.

Medicaid is a means-tested public benefit. Most new immigrants aren't eligible until they've been an LPR for five years. Even then, the affidavit of support could make the sponsor liable to reimburse the state for any benefit payments.

I don't think they deny persons for previous health conditions. I had cancer, and I have been given health insurance. Life insurance is where there is a lot of scrutiny and a higher premium if it has been under seven years since treatment.

My response was based on an article in Money magazine about obtaining private health insurance when you're not eligible for Cobra. I'm sure the article was meant to generalize the situation, and not to be absolute. I was careful to use the phrase "could be denied" for this reason.

I also noted that EmblemHealth in NY has an insurance for previous condition; however, the applicant will have to have medical records sent to prove their condition and not have had an insurance for the past 6 months. As a prospective new resident, I don't think he would qualify immediately, and, again, I do not know what your state offers.

I think it's a safe bet that, regardless of what your situation is, you're going to be able to find some insurance company that's willing to offer you a policy. The question is what will it cost and what will it pay for. An insurance company doesn't always have the discretion to selectively deny coverage. For example, if you're a full-time employee of a company then you're probably qualified for coverage under their group plan, regardless of your medical history. In some states this depends on whether you were covered by your previous employer's plan, and whether that coverage ended within a certain window of time. This mandatory coverage affects their bottom line, so they routinely adjust their group rates to offset the costs.

One thing is certain, though. If an insurance company has the discretion to deny coverage then they are certainly going to do so if there's a virtual guarantee that they're going to lose money on the policy. When the law requires them to provide coverage then they're going to base the rates on what they know their liability is going to be, plus an added pad for perceived risk of additional medical problems. They aren't going to offer you insurance for $500 a month if they know with virtual certainty that they're going to be paying for more than $6000 of medical services in a year. That will change if the AHA survives in it's present form, and if congress ultimately decides to put a cap on insurance premiums in response to the inevitable explosion in rates. It won't last long, though, because insurance companies won't stay in business if they are perpetually losing money.