Medical Insurance in the US

[moemac59 192]

Okay so my fiance and I were talking about this over the weekend. He doesn't make much money, is in the middle of switching health insurance providers and to cover the two of us will be very, very, very expensive$$$ as I have a pre-existing medical condition (asthma). Can I buy some sort of Blue Cross package to cover me until I am able to find work and be covered with medical benefits? Just want to know what options that I have until I get a job.

If anyone can shed some light on this please let me know.

[Spoom 8]

When I couldn't work or was doing contracting, we had to pay for two separate private plans to cover each of us, since they wouldn't allow us to be on the same plan due to my wife's conditions. It was veeerrrrrry expensive, for both premiums and the huge deductible on both plans. I went the full-time employee route instead of continuing to contract primarily because of the health insurance situation. I unfortunately don't have any other advice than to have one of you do the same if you can, and get group coverage for both of you. The situation in the US makes it very difficult to do anything else.

[nickbits 43]

Health insurance options depend on your state. Checkout http://www.healthcare.gov/. Really, your best option is for one of you to find work with good insurance. I've never had an employer plan have any issues with pre-existing conditions.

[sheeshkabelle 153]

Okay so my fiance and I were talking about this over the weekend. He doesn't make much money, is in the middle of switching health insurance providers and to cover the two of us will be very, very, very expensive$$$ as I have a pre-existing medical condition (asthma). Can I buy some sort of Blue Cross package to cover me until I am able to find work and be covered with medical benefits? Just want to know what options that I have until I get a job.

If anyone can shed some light on this please let me know.

Due to the recent health care reform, an insurance company can no longer deny you for pre-existing conditions. BUT they can charge you out the wazoo for premiums and deductibles.

Getting a private plan will more than likely be more expensive than going on your husband's new plan when he switches. An employer pays part of the premiums for their employees. A private plan will leave the entire premium up to you to pay.

Some private plans have low premiums, but do not cover nearly as much and have high co-pays.

You will have to shop around to find out.

[moemac59 192]

Due to the recent health care reform, an insurance company can no longer deny you for pre-existing conditions. BUT they can charge you out the wazoo for premiums and deductibles.

Getting a private plan will more than likely be more expensive than going on your husband's new plan when he switches. An employer pays part of the premiums for their employees. A private plan will leave the entire premium up to you to pay.

Some private plans have low premiums, but do not cover nearly as much and have high co-pays.

You will have to shop around to find out.

[/quote

BOO this is what I will miss about living in Canada! Even though we pay high taxes would much rather do that and not have to worry about this.

[pocheros 101]

Unfortunately you're basically screwed if you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on insurance each month. You either take the risk of having no insurance and spending way too much money on it. Welcome to America, land of the free and uninsured and/or destitute

I am a healthy 22 year old woman, no conditions, don't smoke, etc. and the cheapest health insurance plan my husband's company would offer cost $320 a month. My jaw dropped to the floor and after asking my husband a few times what we could do about it I realized there was no alternative except private health insurance, which would cost the same or more.

Start playing the lottery

[Ontarkie 14,222]

We were added to my husbands insurance and never had any problems with pre-existing conditions, 3 of us have asthma and the oldest has psoriasis. I don't think they even asked about it as coming from Canada we were already had health coverage.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Ontarkie

[moemac59 192]

Unfortunately you're basically screwed if you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on insurance each month. You either take the risk of having no insurance and spending way too much money on it. Welcome to America, land of the free and uninsured and/or destitute

I am a healthy 22 year old woman, no conditions, don't smoke, etc. and the cheapest health insurance plan my husband's company would offer cost $320 a month. My jaw dropped to the floor and after asking my husband a few times what we could do about it I realized there was no alternative except private health insurance, which would cost the same or more.

Start playing the lottery

I may end looking for a job in Niagra Falls, Canada or St. Catherines once I am able to cross over the border. The commute wouldn't be to bad as we will be living about 48 mins away.

[MelissaAndJordan 5]

Okay so my fiance and I were talking about this over the weekend. He doesn't make much money, is in the middle of switching health insurance providers and to cover the two of us will be very, very, very expensive$ as I have a pre-existing medical condition (asthma). Can I buy some sort of Blue Cross package to cover me until I am able to find work and be covered with medical benefits? Just want to know what options that I have until I get a job.

If anyone can shed some light on this please let me know.

You can buy insurance any time you like. The unfortunate thing is, specifically with Blue Cross (Anthem), they have a 1 year waiting period for preexisting medical conditions. Those conditions which need treatment from day 1 come at a high premium. My fiance is type 1 diabetic and for his insurance we are looking at around $1000/month. Now, I am sure Asthma would put you in a lower bracket than him, but still plan to pay a significant amount.

That said, I happened to speak to an agent who has a type-1 diabetic son so he was very helpful. And it turns out that starting next year, in anticipation of the new health care law, Anthem is supposed to be lowering rates so that all that is used to judge your premium is sex, age and whether or not you are a smoker.

I also looked into short term coverage for him, and noone would cover on a short term plan with a preexisting condition.

Edit: Also, the best thing you could do for yourself is bite the bullet and call them, explain your condition, and get a quote. I was reluctant to do it because I knew it was just gonna suck. But now that I have, we can properly prepare for the cost. It was somewhat of a relief.

Edited April 11, 2012 by MelissaAndJordan

[Colleens 40]

I may end looking for a job in Niagra Falls, Canada or St. Catherines once I am able to cross over the border. The commute wouldn't be to bad as we will be living about 48 mins away.

Working in Canada will no help you at all since once you move to the US and become a resident you are no longer a resident of Canada and no longer entitled to healthcare here.

There should not be an issue with getting insurance with a pre-existing condition since you are coming from a country with national health care, it is like moving from one insurance company to another. They may charge you more for your premiums though. Coverage through an employer is your best bet. We had the absolute basic coverage through Blue Cross Blue Sheild and it cost us $360 a month. And we had high dedictibles, co-pays and out of pocket. We now have insurance through my husbands employer and it costs about $550 a month, but the coverage is pretty good. You will have to look at what the plan offers and compare it to other options.

[moemac59 192]

Working in Canada will no help you at all since once you move to the US and become a resident you are no longer a resident of Canada and no longer entitled to healthcare here.

There should not be an issue with getting insurance with a pre-existing condition since you are coming from a country with national health care, it is like moving from one insurance company to another. They may charge you more for your premiums though. Coverage through an employer is your best bet. We had the absolute basic coverage through Blue Cross Blue Sheild and it cost us $360 a month. And we had high dedictibles, co-pays and out of pocket. We now have insurance through my husbands employer and it costs about $550 a month, but the coverage is pretty good. You will have to look at what the plan offers and compare it to other options.

If I work in Canada but reside in the US, I should be covered by my Canadian employer. How does this work for people who are Canadians living in border towns ie. detroit but work in Sarnia? Are they not covered by OHIP?

[Udella&Wiz 325]

If I work in Canada but reside in the US, I should be covered by my Canadian employer. How does this work for people who are Canadians living in border towns ie. detroit but work in Sarnia? Are they not covered by OHIP?

Doubt it since they are US residents - Neiks (our Cdn forum example of this...lives in US, works for Cdn border patrol) can perhaps share how it is working out.

Working for a Cdn employer isn't going to get you covered(or entitled to) OHIP - being a resident of ON will and that you will no longer be. You aren't living in the province and thus paying the taxes which will entitle you to Cdn healthcare. You cannot have it both ways

The Cdn employers who are near borders and have both US and Cdn employees may just contribute a certain $$ amount to their employees' healthcare...whether it's to OHIP for the Cdn residents or to a company or private plan if the employee is a US resident.

[Ontarkie 14,222]

Nope living in the US makes you no longer a Canadian resident so no OHIP. The employer health benefits in Canada are usually supplemental they cover things that OHIP doesn't that is why it cost less. Private rooms dental and drug benefits, chiropractors and such. There are ppl who think they are still allowed to use OHIP when they are not and one day it will catch up to them.

[moemac59 192]

Nope living in the US makes you no longer a Canadian resident so no OHIP. The employer health benefits in Canada are usually supplemental they cover things that OHIP doesn't that is why it cost less. Private rooms dental and drug benefits, chiropractors and such. There are ppl who think they are still allowed to use OHIP when they are not and one day it will catch up to them.

Aahh gotcha.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Nope living in the US makes you no longer a Canadian resident so no OHIP. The employer health benefits in Canada are usually supplemental they cover things that OHIP doesn't that is why it cost less. Private rooms dental and drug benefits, chiropractors and such. There are ppl who think they are still allowed to use OHIP when they are not and one day it will catch up to them.

And there precisely is why all of us Canadians scream at the price of healthcare in the US ...we've never actually known what it costs because our provincial helathcare has lulled us into a sense of security....OHIP covered so much and our employer insurance didn't have to cover nearly as much.

That is not to say that the prices are still a bit high (and need work) but I personally find I now get better QUALITY healthcare now than I did in Canada so maybe there's trade-off there? Obviously it's better to be employed and have health ins then not in the US

Well, gawd knows that will spark the discussion...better hide my head now