Success getting healthcare coverage for immigrant parents over 65

[missads 59]

At the risk of repeating other posts, I just wanted to share my experience of being able to find affordable health insurance for my parents. Here are some details:

Parents - over 65, here on Green Card (permanent residents)

Living in the US for less than 5 years (about 2 years)

Eligible for tax subsidy through Obamacare (this does NOT constitute a public charge)

Residents of State of Michigan, have social security numbers

Eligible for Silver level insurance plans

Filed their $0 federal/state taxes jointly, separate from mine (I do NOT claim them as dependents on my tax return - this is important)

I had searched the healthcare.gov website last year for insurance for them and came up empty handed. We purchased "travelers insurance" online (***removed***) but got shafted. My parent had a major health incident and they didn't cover anything (all claims were denied as pre-existing condition) Stay away from these types of insurance.

I tried healthcare.gov again this year and couldn't find anything again. Many seem to assume, wrongly, that everyone over 65 is eligible for Medicare by default. This isn't true for immigrants, they need to have lived in the US for at least 5 years before they can participate in Medicare.

Anyway, the short story is healthcare.gov has still not caught on to this. If you want to purchase health insurance, you will need to work with a healthcare navigator. There are several public service organizations that have these navigators who will help you for free. They will help you do the application over the phone, and then it works just fine. I am in Michigan and went through Jewish Family Service. Have your parents green cards and SSN handy, that is all they need.

There appears to be a widely held misconception that immigrant seniors over 65 are not covered by Obamacare. This is absolutely NOT true. You don't have to wait for 5 years for Medicare to kick in. Recent immigrants older than 65 can purchase health insurance via healthcare.gov, just like any other US citizen or legal permanent resident. Some state exchanges might not know it, the person you talk to on the phone might not know it, the healthcare.gov website certainly doesn't appear to understand this special situation, but trust me parents on green cards who have been in the US less than 5 years ARE eligible for subsidized health coverage.

I was able to get health insurance for my parents who have no income, for around $100 a month per parent (after a $1000 tax subsidy, because their income is less than limit of ~$21K) Now that is REALLY affordable, and it is proper mainstream insurance (Blue Cross Michigan) None of that travelers' insurance BS.

Just trying to get the word out, because the open enrollment deadline is January 31st. If your parents arrive after Jan 31st, you can still sign up at that time, because their arrival date qualifies as a special "life event". But if they are already in the US, please sign up by Jan 31st. Otherwise they will have to wait until November for the next enrollment period to begin.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

That's good to know !

[MarinaMaya 3]

Hi, my parents just came. so they couldn't have had tax return filed yet.

Do you think they will still get the discount? I am going to try. They just don't have SSN's arrived yet. Can I find their SSN number before the phisical card arrives?

[missads 59]

They do need SSNs and proof of immigration. The immigrant visa stamp in their passports would serve as proof of immigration. You could try going to your social security office for the SSN.

Ask a healthcare navigator or call the healthcare.gov helpline, they should be able to help. I'm guessing if your parents just arrived, they would not be limited by the Jan 31 deadline.

[Mia77 2]

Hi missads,

That's great that your parent have got medical insurance. However, I am not sure that they can get tax subsidy on that ground that they don't have income. If you sponsored your parent's green cards, then you made commitment to USCIS that you are paying their expenses and so their subsidy has to be calculated using your income. I don't think that insurance brokers know immigration staff so they didn't warn you about this. My opinion is that you have to buy medical coverage for them and claim them as dependents on your tax return and also you can deduct their medical expenses on your tax return.

At the risk of repeating other posts, I just wanted to share my experience of being able to find affordable health insurance for my parents. Here are some details:

Parents - over 65, here on Green Card (permanent residents)

Living in the US for less than 5 years (about 2 years)

Eligible for tax subsidy through Obamacare (this does NOT constitute a public charge)

Residents of State of Michigan, have social security numbers

Eligible for Silver level insurance plans

Filed their $0 federal/state taxes jointly, separate from mine (I do NOT claim them as dependents on my tax return - this is important)

I had searched the healthcare.gov website last year for insurance for them and came up empty handed. We purchased "travelers insurance" online (***removed***) but got shafted. My parent had a major health incident and they didn't cover anything (all claims were denied as pre-existing condition) Stay away from these types of insurance.

I tried healthcare.gov again this year and couldn't find anything again. Many seem to assume, wrongly, that everyone over 65 is eligible for Medicare by default. This isn't true for immigrants, they need to have lived in the US for at least 5 years before they can participate in Medicare.

Anyway, the short story is healthcare.gov has still not caught on to this. If you want to purchase health insurance, you will need to work with a healthcare navigator. There are several public service organizations that have these navigators who will help you for free. They will help you do the application over the phone, and then it works just fine. I am in Michigan and went through Jewish Family Service. Have your parents green cards and SSN handy, that is all they need.

There appears to be a widely held misconception that immigrant seniors over 65 are not covered by Obamacare. This is absolutely NOT true. You don't have to wait for 5 years for Medicare to kick in. Recent immigrants older than 65 can purchase health insurance via healthcare.gov, just like any other US citizen or legal permanent resident. Some state exchanges might not know it, the person you talk to on the phone might not know it, the healthcare.gov website certainly doesn't appear to understand this special situation, but trust me parents on green cards who have been in the US less than 5 years ARE eligible for subsidized health coverage.

I was able to get health insurance for my parents who have no income, for around $100 a month per parent (after a $1000 tax subsidy, because their income is less than limit of ~$21K) Now that is REALLY affordable, and it is proper mainstream insurance (Blue Cross Michigan) None of that travelers' insurance BS.

Just trying to get the word out, because the open enrollment deadline is January 31st. If your parents arrive after Jan 31st, you can still sign up at that time, because their arrival date qualifies as a special "life event". But if they are already in the US, please sign up by Jan 31st. Otherwise they will have to wait until November for the next enrollment period to begin.

[missads 59]

Hi Mia77,

Just because we sponsored our parents' green cards (I-864) it doesn't mean they have to be declared as our dependents in our tax returns. The two are completely separate. If they file taxes separately (this is really important) and they don't work / have any income, they are eligible for maximum healthcare tax subsidy. The law specifically states that healthcare subsidy does NOT constitute a public charge (quoting my very experienced healthcare navigator.)

To be clear, this only applies to health insurance purchased on the open exchange. Federal programs (Medicare) and state programs (Medicaid) will apply the sponsor's income for any means tested benefits. The one exception is the state of California. Their Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) is very liberal and does not apply the sponsor's income when determining eligibility, even if you filled out an I-864. Also, recent immigrants (in the US less than 5 years) with no income are eligible for Medi-Cal. I was considering moving to CA just for this, until I found out Obamacare covers my parents. But I digress...

Again, to make the most use of the healthcare subsidy, don't claim your parents as dependents on your taxes and you should be fine. You lose a bit in the form of tax deductions for dependents, but the payback in terms of health coverage is well worth it IMO...

Hi missads,

That's great that your parent have got medical insurance. However, I am not sure that they can get tax subsidy on that ground that they don't have income. If you sponsored your parent's green cards, then you made commitment to USCIS that you are paying their expenses and so their subsidy has to be calculated using your income. I don't think that insurance brokers know immigration staff so they didn't warn you about this. My opinion is that you have to buy medical coverage for them and claim them as dependents on your tax return and also you can deduct their medical expenses on your tax return.

[Anh map 2,098]

I hope that you are correct, but I think something is amiss there.

I'd double check before trying to make any claims on the insurance. You don't want to wind up on the hook for massive full price hospital bills.

[yuna628 9,665]

Thanks for posting this thread. Lately, there's been so many asking health insurance related questions for themselves, spouses, and other family members. The ACA doesn't give much clarity in the process for most people, and when it comes to new immigrants it gives a large amount of confusion.

[missads 59]

There seems to be a lot of honest misinformation out there. Most people (including me, until recently) just assume that their newly immigrated senior parents are not eligible for health coverage. I have gone through the process successfully and can only report on my experience.

My advice to the skeptics is to use a healthcare navigator or call the healthcare.gov team directly and apply for health insurance. Don't be paralyzed into inaction simply based on hearsay. The worst thing they can do is say no. More likely though, you are going to be pleasantly surprised by the results.

[missads 59]

Suggested reading https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/

If you’re a lawfully present immigrant, you can buy private health insurance on the Marketplace. You may be eligible for lower costs on monthly premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs based on your income.

• If your annual income is 400% of the federal poverty level or below: You may be eligible for premium tax credits and other savings on Marketplace insurance.
• If your annual household income is below 100% federal poverty level: If you’re not otherwise eligible for Medicaid you’ll be eligible for premium tax credits and other savings on Marketplace insurance, if you meet all other eligibility requirements.

[MarinaMaya 3]

The part that is amiss is you can't file a tax return and claim exemption if you can be claimed as a dependent by somebody else.

Say it doesn't matter if you have 0 income whatsoever. Are you going to file completely empty tax return???

[missads 59]

The part that is amiss is you can't file a tax return and claim exemption if you can be claimed as a dependent by somebody else.

Say it doesn't matter if you have 0 income whatsoever. Are you going to file completely empty tax return???

Huh? No, I didn't claim my parents as dependents on my taxes. Yes, they filed a separate, completely empty (no income, no taxes, no deductions) tax return (married filing jointly) last year, and plan to do the same this year as well.

I think you are conflating two separate things. Being your parents' GC sponsor does not "require" you to claim them as dependents on your taxes. You are allowed to claim them as dependents, but you may choose not to do so (which is what I did.)

The trade-off is that you give up the standard deductions you'd otherwise get for dependents (and pay higher taxes as a result,) in return for getting a subsidy on their health insurance premiums. Make sense?

Edited January 21, 2016 by missads

[Umka36 781]

Out of curiosity how much are the plans and what's the deductible before the insurance pays. I've hard that the plans may be affordable, but using it seems to be the problem. I guess it depends on which plan you pick.

Other issues I hear is that if you file with zero income, then you'll probably be referred to Medicaid. I'm not hear to bash Medicaid (it is better than nothing), but I wouldn't want my parents under it especially when many specialist aren't accepting Medicaid patients or they have a long wait.

[missads 59]

In Michigan, per person it worked out to

Premium 100 /mo,

Annual deductible $300

Annual out of pocket maximum $650.

Of course, these numbers will vary by state, but will still be very reasonable. The tax credit was about $1000 i.e. without it the premium normally would have been $1100 per month.

The system picks up that you are not eligible for Medicaid because of the 5 year waiting period. Gotta get this sorted on the phone though.

[Umka36 781]

That's pretty good rate. Hopefully the ACA is sustainable, because it will need a lot of healthy individuals paying into it.

This reminds me of when I was single and paying for insurance but never using it. After having a family that went out the window (I still don't use it).