Applying for health insurance while pending AOS

[BradLina 0]

So I will be turning 26 and will need to get health insurance. My wife and I just got married at the end of feburary and sent our AOS mid April. We did finger prints for her last Friday. What I want to know is... Am I able to get health insurance while AOS is pending? Or do I have to wait for the Employment Authorization to be approved in order for her apply for health insurance. Or am I able to apply for both us due to being married and just put her under a plan for both of us together?

[UK-USA-K1 128]

So I will be turning 26 and will need to get health insurance. My wife and I just got married at the end of feburary and sent our AOS mid April. We did finger prints for her last Friday. What I want to know is... Am I able to get health insurance while AOS is pending? Or do I have to wait for the Employment Authorization to be approved in order for her apply for health insurance. Or am I able to apply for both us due to being married and just put her under a plan for both of us together?

I'm not sure if this answers your question but i'll tell you our circumstance and hopefully it helps.

She came over on a K-1 visa. We got married. We then filed for her SSN, once that came through, I had her added to my existing insurance policy. By law, they had to add her to my existing policy due to what they call a "major life change". Things like marriage or birth of a child are covered here. The one thing that caught us a little by surprise but wasn't really a big deal is that they had to cover her proactively, so the policy had to be paid back to the date of our wedding. If there had been any medical in that time frame, we could have filed claims retroactively on them.

Now with that said, all circumstances are unique, but that is how it worked for us. We married in October, got her SSN and put on insurance in December (retroactive to October) and we are just now filing for AOS (filed in April).

If you are getting insurance through an employer, check with the human resources department of your employer. They should be able to assist you with this.

Edited May 27, 2014 by UK-USA-K1

[BradLina 0]

I'm not sure if this answers your question but i'll tell you our circumstance and hopefully it helps.

She came over on a K-1 visa. We got married. We then filed for her SSN, once that came through, I had her added to my existing insurance policy. By law, they had to add her to my existing policy due to what they call a "major life change". Things like marriage or birth of a child are covered here. The one thing that caught us a little by surprise but wasn't really a big deal is that they had to cover her proactively, so the policy had to be paid back to the date of our wedding. If there had been any medical in that time frame, we could have filed claims retroactively on them.

Now with that said, all circumstances are unique, but that is how it worked for us. We married in October, got her SSN and put on insurance in December (retroactive to October) and we are just now filing for AOS (filed in April).

If you are getting insurance through an employer, check with the human resources department of your employer. They should be able to assist you with this.

Not really. It just confuses me more honestly. If I understand though she needs to wait for her SSN. Although I will say she has an SSN from a prior employment opportunity in the past. This was before we knew each other though. From my understanding the SSN is not active and we have to wait for the I-765 EAD to be approved first. So I'm guessing once that's approved she can apply for insurance??

[Gail83 21]

So I will be turning 26 and will need to get health insurance. My wife and I just got married at the end of feburary and sent our AOS mid April. We did finger prints for her last Friday. What I want to know is... Am I able to get health insurance while AOS is pending? Or do I have to wait for the Employment Authorization to be approved in order for her apply for health insurance. Or am I able to apply for both us due to being married and just put her under a plan for both of us together?

Just to clarify, am I right in thinking that you are the USC and your wife is the one who came here on a K1 visa? If this is the case then as your wife has applied for AOS she is required to have health insurance. If you are going to get health insurance through your employer then I would suggest like the above poster that you speak to them about what documents they would need to include her in the policy.

If this option is not available to her then she can obtain her own policy through the healthcare marketplace. You do not need to wait for employment authorisation to do this. Hope this helps.

[sweet cakes 326]

Not really. It just confuses me more honestly. If I understand though she needs to wait for her SSN. Although I will say she has an SSN from a prior employment opportunity in the past. This was before we knew each other though. From my understanding the SSN is not active and we have to wait for the I-765 EAD to be approved first. So I'm guessing once that's approved she can apply for insurance??

Like UK-USA-K1, my husband also added me to his existing medical policy at work on the same week that we married. As far as I can recall, he didn't even ask for my SSN (although I received my SSN a month before we married) when he informed his employer's HR to add me in his Health plan coverage as a dependent. I received my health plan certificate about a week later. I guess it depends on your existing medical insurance as well. I was insured since January but I only applied for my AOS/EAD/AP last March, so EAD is not a requirement in getting an insurance.

[QueenOfBlades 224]

Yes you can. If neither of you work, you can call the health insurance marketplace and see if you're eligible to enroll. Open enrollment ended March 31st and doesn't re-open till later in the year, but you can enroll if you have a qualifying life event.

The only thing she needs is to be legally present in the US. Initially we sent off my AOS NOA1, I-94 and scan of my K1 visa in my passport as proof.

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I think every reply is pretty much on point.

Broken down to the basics it works like this....

Once you are married and your spouse is in this country, any health insurance you qualify for, your spouse is eligible for. If you are not on a policy, then you need to figure out what will work to get you on a policy, whether that's in the marketplace set up through the healthcare.gov website or if it's through an employer. There are only certain times of the year where you can sign up for a new plan, and that depends on a lot of different issues, the best thing to do is to figure out how you are getting insured and go to them and get the information you require for your personal circumstance. I recommend doing so as soon as possible after you are eligible, because if you wait to long, you could be locked out until the next eligibility window opens up.

[M&A_Japan 0]

Once you are married and your spouse is in this country, any health insurance you qualify for, your spouse is eligible for.

I'm still 24, so I'm on my parents' health insurance (parents can keep their children on their plans until the child's 26th birthday). Does that mean my wife, who's 25, is eligible under my parents' health insurance too?

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I'm still 24, so I'm on my parents' health insurance (parents can keep their children on their plans until the child's 26th birthday). Does that mean my wife, who's 25, is eligible under my parents' health insurance too?

This law, being so new, I can't say with 100% certainty, but I believe that she cannot be covered under your parent's policy. I believe only the actual child can be covered. I'm assuming, since you are on your parent's policy now, that you are not making a whole lot of money (I apologize if this assumption is incorrect), and if that is the case, you may look into moving from your parents policy to your own. If your employer doesn't offer one, you can find them on the healthcare exchange. Low income qualifiers can get the majority of the costs of their insurance subsidized by the government, so it would mean minimal out of pocket expense. It's worth looking into. Your wife would automatically qualify as your spouse.

[M&A_Japan 0]

This law, being so new, I can't say with 100% certainty, but I believe that she cannot be covered under your parent's policy. I believe only the actual child can be covered. I'm assuming, since you are on your parent's policy now, that you are not making a whole lot of money (I apologize if this assumption is incorrect), and if that is the case, you may look into moving from your parents policy to your own. If your employer doesn't offer one, you can find them on the healthcare exchange. Low income qualifiers can get the majority of the costs of their insurance subsidized by the government, so it would mean minimal out of pocket expense. It's worth looking into. Your wife would automatically qualify as your spouse.

I'm doubled insured and both my parents work in the medical industry, so I assume their plans are better than whatever subsidized insurance I could get. For that reason, I'd rather not move from their policies. However, if I stay with their policies, would my wife still be able to get subsidized insurance by herself or would she have to apply with me? I realize this is a very specific question, but I thought it'd be worth asking here before climbing the phone tree.

[espared12 52]

So I will be turning 26 and will need to get health insurance. My wife and I just got married at the end of feburary and sent our AOS mid April. We did finger prints for her last Friday. What I want to know is... Am I able to get health insurance while AOS is pending? Or do I have to wait for the Employment Authorization to be approved in order for her apply for health insurance. Or am I able to apply for both us due to being married and just put her under a plan for both of us together?

This depends on your employer. I added my wife to my health insurance before we sent our AOS. They only asked for our marriage certificate. I explained that she does not have SSN just yet and they were very understanding and let me know it was no problem, just to update her SSN as soon as she gets it. She currently has health, dental, vision, and life insurance under my plan at work. She even got all her vaccines covered by the health insurance so that we could send them with AOS.

[Anonymous885 44]

So I will be turning 26 and will need to get health insurance. My wife and I just got married at the end of feburary and sent our AOS mid April. We did finger prints for her last Friday. What I want to know is... Am I able to get health insurance while AOS is pending? Or do I have to wait for the Employment Authorization to be approved in order for her apply for health insurance. Or am I able to apply for both us due to being married and just put her under a plan for both of us together?

I added my wife through my employer without needing SSN. They even told me to not write down her social security on the form. Insurance was covered from the date of event( marriage day) and they asked for marriage certificate.

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I'm doubled insured and both my parents work in the medical industry, so I assume their plans are better than whatever subsidized insurance I could get. For that reason, I'd rather not move from their policies. However, if I stay with their policies, would my wife still be able to get subsidized insurance by herself or would she have to apply with me? I realize this is a very specific question, but I thought it'd be worth asking here before climbing the phone tree.

I honestly do not have the answer to that question. Honestly I think it would be worth your while to contact the health exchange. I did some quick research (maybe 10 minutes) and found a few tidbits online. Here is an article I found talking about immigrants under the new health care law.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/stories/2012/october/11/health-care-immigrants.aspx

Immigrants here legally who don’t get coverage through their jobs will be able to purchase health coverage through new state-based marketplaces called exchanges that open Oct. 1. Since many are in low-paying jobs, they may also qualify for Medicaid, although most are not eligible for that coverage until they have been in the country for at least five years. Immigrants who have refugee status can qualify for Medicaid without the five-year waiting period. The federal law expands Medicaid eligibility in all states to people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $15,800 for an individual and $33,000 for a family of four. An estimated 57 percent of uninsured non-citizens meet that income requirement. However, about half the states have opted not to accept that expansion because the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government cannot penalize states that choose not to expand eligibility.

Legal immigrants earning more than the Medicaid limit could qualify for a federal subsidy aimed at helping people earning up to four times the poverty level -- about $46,000 for an individual -- purchase coverage through the exchanges. Also, legal immigrants who are not eligible for Medicaid because they haven't been in the country for five years – will be eligible for subsidies through the new marketplaces.

[M&A_Japan 0]

Thanks for going out of your way to make such a helpful reply! I'll make sure to pay it forward.

[kc247 22]

I'm still 24, so I'm on my parents' health insurance (parents can keep their children on their plans until the child's 26th birthday). Does that mean my wife, who's 25, is eligible under my parents' health insurance too?

Same thing happened with me and my husband...he is still covered under his parents, his parents said I couldn't be added. I do actually think it depends on the insurance. My cousin worked at a hospital before and told me to check with the insurance because he has heard of some allowing it. But I can't say for sure if that is true as his parent's wouldn't allow it. We had a horrible time getting me health insurance. Gave up on the marketplace because they kept calling me and then saying they had to call back and never would. Gave up and applied for a different one, and took over a month for them to approve me, and now are charging us for that whole month it took for them to approve me (we are dealing with that now...) So I recommend applying for health insurance asap, in case it takes awhile.