health insurance crisis

[mambocowboy 0]

Hi everybody, my wife arrived from Colombia on k1 visa May 12, 2012 and we married on May 14,2012. I had spoken with my employer before her arrival and explained that she was coming from another country on a fiancee visa and they said no problem just show us the marriage certificate and you can enroll her in a health care plan. So we hand delivered the marriage certificate yesterday afternoon, no problem, they said ok you're good to go. Then this morning I get an email from them saying they can't enroll her without a social security number. I called them to explain why she doesn't have a SSN and was told they can't enroll her without a SSN. So I've been calling around looking for insurance for immigrants, and they seem to all have pregnancy clauses where they won't cover someone for pregnancy until 10 months in. Well, we've already been trying to get pregnant as we both would love to have kids. Does anybody have any advice other than waiting to have kids? Thank you

[rocks 494]

Go and get a SSN. It's free and she is entitled to it. Here's the guide for getting a SSN.

[Carito_ 5]

My advice would be to wait for a couple of weeks and get her a social security number, as a K1 she qualifies for one, and with that SSN, add her to your healthcare...

[United1878 1]

From my understanding, I think she is entitled to apply for SSN being that she came in with a K1 visa. It seems like if one comes in on a K1 visa, you could apply for it after 2 weeks of arrival, that way DHS would have updated their system to show that the person is here legally at least for 90 days.

So take your wife to SSA with her passport, I-94 and marriage certificate. It shouldn't be a problem. After applying, you should get the card in the mail in between 4-6 days. Good luck with the kids!

[Oksana & Max 94]

Just go and apply for a SSN, this is not a problem at all.

It probably will take you about 30 days to get it but you will get one.

[Tygrys 143]

Go and get a SSN. It's free and she is entitled to it. Here's the guide for getting a SSN.

:thumbs:

[LeftCoastLady 441]

On your second question, most health insurance plans have a "pregnancy clause," immigrant or not. So, unless you're ready to pay for everything out of pocket, it's best to wait until you know everything will be covered in-plan.

[Caryh 5,206]

On your second question, most health insurance plans have a "pregnancy clause," immigrant or not. So, unless you're ready to pay for everything out of pocket, it's best to wait until you know everything will be covered in-plan.

Not just for pregnancy, but any illness she already has that was diagnosed will generally be exempt from coverage for a certain period of time. Stop trying until she's covered.

[Caryh 5,206]

I should also mention, my wife and I ran into the same problem getting health insurance through my company right after we got married. I insisted she did not need one, that it was only an identifier used by the insurance company. I was right, the person at the insurance company saying we needed it was wrong, it was their own personal opinion and not insurance company policy. In fact the SSA says you don't need it for insurance, that insurance companies can use other means to identify an individual. You'll run into many people that will assume and say can't whenever faced with something they have not done before. You just need to work through it and insist they actually can, and to please look it up.

[rocks 494]

I should also mention, my wife and I ran into the same problem getting health insurance through my company right after we got married. I insisted she did not need one, that it was only an identifier used by the insurance company. I was right, the person at the insurance company saying we needed it was wrong, it was their own personal opinion and not insurance company policy. In fact the SSA says you don't need it for insurance, that insurance companies can use other means to identify an individual. You'll run into many people that will assume and say can't whenever faced with something they have not done before. You just need to work through it and insist they actually can, and to please look it up.

His wife is entitled to a SSN, it would be much easier if they went and got that rather than having futile arguments with insurance companies. I feel like we have had this conversation before...

[Caryh 5,206]

His wife is entitled to a SSN, it would be much easier if they went and got that rather than having futile arguments with insurance companies. I feel like we have had this conversation before...

Wasn't a futile argument with them in my case. They said they couldn't add her because we were waiting on the SSN yet. I said I'm pretty sure you can, you only use it as an identifier, can you look up alternative methods of identification and they said "wow, I didn't know we could do that". I ran into the identical issue at my bank. They said I couldn't add her to my accounts, I asked them to look it up, and they came back with "I learned something new". There wasn't an argument, I just asked them to look it up because I was positive there was a way to do it. Its over 6 months later and I still haven't had to give the health insurance company the SSN, although she had it shortly after. Yes they can go and get the SSN, provided her i-94 is not within two weeks of the expiration date, and they should hurry up and get it. But that doesn't mean they have to wait and risk not having insurance. It could be a month before she gets her card, and then the opening to enroll her on a life changing event might be closed at his employer. I also now know of two people that will not reject follow up people without the SSN yet because they know better now.

Edited May 23, 2012 by Caryh

[Teddy B 17,252]

Wasn't a futile argument with them in my case. They said they couldn't add her because we were waiting on the SSN yet. I said I'm pretty sure you can, you only use it as an identifier, can you look up alternative methods of identification and they said "wow, I didn't know we could do that". I ran into the identical issue at my bank. They said I couldn't add her to my accounts, I asked them to look it up, and they came back with "I learned something new". There wasn't an argument, I just asked them to look it up because I was positive there was a way to do it. Its over 6 months later and I still haven't had to give the health insurance company the SSN, although she had it shortly after. Yes they can go and get the SSN, provided her i-94 is not within two weeks of the expiration date, and they should hurry up and get it. But that doesn't mean they have to wait and risk not having insurance. It could be a month before she gets her card, and then the opening to enroll her on a life changing event might be closed at his employer. I also now know of two people that will not reject follow up people without the SSN yet because they know better now.

I did the same thing with my wife not having a ssn. I ran into a couple of people that didn't know that a social security wasn't required for most benefits, but once they look into it, they find out that it's not required. I was able to get my wife on my health insurance, auto insurance, bank accounts, and credit cards without an ssn and without any major hassles. I also feel that by educating the people that were incorrectly insisting that my wife need an ssn, it will make it easier for the next person to get their benefits without an ssn, rather than just giving up and doing it their way.

[rocks 494]

Wasn't a futile argument with them in my case. They said they couldn't add her because we were waiting on the SSN yet. I said I'm pretty sure you can, you only use it as an identifier, can you look up alternative methods of identification and they said "wow, I didn't know we could do that". I ran into the identical issue at my bank. They said I couldn't add her to my accounts, I asked them to look it up, and they came back with "I learned something new". There wasn't an argument, I just asked them to look it up because I was positive there was a way to do it. Its over 6 months later and I still haven't had to give the health insurance company the SSN, although she had it shortly after. Yes they can go and get the SSN, provided her i-94 is not within two weeks of the expiration date, and they should hurry up and get it. But that doesn't mean they have to wait and risk not having insurance. It could be a month before she gets her card, and then the opening to enroll her on a life changing event might be closed at his employer. I also now know of two people that will not reject follow up people without the SSN yet because they know better now.

You got lucky if there was no argument.

The woman at the DMV would not listen to anything, and she was the supervisor. I had the same problem with the bank and health insurance. It only took 10 days for the SSN to turn up, so it wasn't too long to wait. It makes life much easier if I have a SSN, I don't have to waste my time explaining. There's no reason not to get one, which is why I advised he should go ahead and apply for the SSN. Glad your method worked for you, I prefer the easy life.

[Teddy B 17,252]

You got lucky if there was no argument.

The woman at the DMV would not listen to anything, and she was the supervisor. I had the same problem with the bank and health insurance. It only took 10 days for the SSN to turn up, so it wasn't too long to wait. It makes life much easier if I have a SSN, I don't have to waste my time explaining. There's no reason not to get one, which is why I advised he should go ahead and apply for the SSN. Glad your method worked for you, I prefer the easy life.

Was there a language barrier in your case? I find it odd that not one of those people could be persuaded to simply look it up.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

The DMV isn't exactly full of the most helpful, pleasant people around.