Success getting healthcare coverage for immigrant parents over 65

[SkipSherv 1]

On 10/9/2016 at 5:32 PM, nepusa said:

Hi Missads,

Hopefully, what you wrote is true that the sponsoring child's income does not need to be included while determining the total income for the immigrant parents.

However after the parents are in the US for 5 years, assuming that they are =/> 65 years of age, they will be eligible for Medicare.

To enroll in Medicare, Immigrants who have not worked in the US for 10 years, will have to pay monthly premiums for Medicare A as well as Medicare B, which again would be expensive.

Do you know if immigrant parents can continue with ACA or if they have to enroll in Medicare after 5 year stay in US?

Thanks

 

According to the publications I have read so far, they can choose to stay with their ACA plan or switch to Medicare when eligible.  Their choice.

[Maria and Jason 55]

I am a conservative therefore I have mixed feelings on the Trump administration.

One thing that is making me very nervous is that my parents are immigrants and have been able to get healthcare through ACA subsidies.

If Trump repeals the ACA, what will my parents do when they get to age 65?

Purchasing Medicare is extremely expensive.

[yuna628 9,687]

38 minutes ago, Maria and Jason said:

I am a conservative therefore I have mixed feelings on the Trump administration.

One thing that is making me very nervous is that my parents are immigrants and have been able to get healthcare through ACA subsidies.

If Trump repeals the ACA, what will my parents do when they get to age 65?

Purchasing Medicare is extremely expensive.

Not to be snarky, but the sad reality is, I don't believe the administration actually cares. Just as the previous administration didn't care enough to fix specific issues with the ACA law to assist those in certain situations. Your parents won't be eligible for Medicare anyway - at least until they have been here for five years. You'd have to buy insurance coverage out of pocket, but the problem is many insurances are allowed to have clauses to get around covering elderly patients. No one in the administration and those pundits that tout the repealing of O'care are willing to address those issues. The reality of the situation is difficult I know.

[Boiler 45,731]

Not really an OCare issue as Medicare is the option for Senior Citizens, obviously more expensive if you have not paid in.

 

Something no doubt pretty high up there in deciding whether to sponsor parents.

 

Canada obviously does things different.

[sassymama 0]

On 1/20/2016 at 7:00 PM, missads said:

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...

I am looking for insurance for my mom and I live in california. Are you saying that they are not checking for the medi-cal when applying? i know the law says they are not qualified, and when I called the Medicaid office they pretty much said no waiting period, but  it is still a risky situation in my opinion. 

[Boiler 45,731]

California is currently at least quite generous with Medicaid, we were talking about Medicare for the over 65.

[missads 59]

On 4/27/2017 at 2:10 PM, sassymama said:

I am looking for insurance for my mom and I live in california. Are you saying that they are not checking for the medi-cal when applying? i know the law says they are not qualified, and when I called the Medicaid office they pretty much said no waiting period, but  it is still a risky situation in my opinion. 

If your mom has zero income, has a green card, and officially resides in California, she is eligible for Medi-Cal. Medi-Cal is one of the only medicaid programs in the country that doesn't have the five year waiting period for green card holders to be eligible for medicaid. You are lucky!

[missads 59]

I have been away for a while, but thought I'd provide a quick update (hopefully without getting into an argument with anyone.)

 

My parents (zero income, LPR, not claimed as dependents on my taxes) have been legally enrolled in Obamacare for two years now. They have received PTC (subsidy) that makes the insurance very affordable. They have filed tax returns (federal and state) with the subsidy reported on Form 8962. They had to use the "married filing jointly" option while filing their tax returns independent of mine (I did not claim them as dependents even though we both entered the same physical address in our respective tax returns.) No issues whatsoever.

 

We relocated to another state this year and enrolled in that state's Obamacare program, again with no issues. This time we enrolled in-person through an official healthcare navigator at a state-run signup event. She too confirmed that LPR parents are eligible for Obamacare and are entitled to PTC if they have zero income and file their taxes separately.

 

Just putting this information out there for your reference. Believe the naysayers if you want, but Obamacare with PTC is available to LPR parents (remember - zero income and NEVER claimed as dependents on their child's taxes.)

 

God bless Obama! My parent suffered a major illness and I would have been bankrupt by now if not for Obamacare...

Edited May 17, 2017 by missads

[bimik 4]

On 1/20/2016 at 7:00 PM, missads said:

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...

Thank you for a great post. I just filed for my parents green cards ( concurrent filing I 130 + I 485). Obviously they don't have SSN yet, earliest would be after the approval of their work permit. My parents are 70 and 64 years old. Do you think I can get them Medi-cal at this stage or I need to wait for their work permits to be approved ? My mom has a traveler's insurance, but as you mentioned, these don't cover much.

[Boiler 45,731]

15 minutes ago, bimik said:

Thank you for a great post. I just filed for my parents green cards ( concurrent filing I 130 + I 485). Obviously they don't have SSN yet, earliest would be after the approval of their work permit. My parents are 70 and 64 years old. Do you think I can get them Medi-cal at this stage or I need to wait for their work permits to be approved ? My mom has a traveler's insurance, but as you mentioned, these don't cover much.

Presumably they do not have the credits to qualify for Medicare, begs the question how they will afford it, presumably independently wealthy.

 

I believe once they have the NOA they can apply through the Exchange.

[Boiler 45,731]

Obviously it depends but certainly from the UK Travel Insurance is for those travelling not immigrating.

[missads 59]

1 hour ago, bimik said:

Thank you for a great post. I just filed for my parents green cards ( concurrent filing I 130 + I 485). Obviously they don't have SSN yet, earliest would be after the approval of their work permit. My parents are 70 and 64 years old. Do you think I can get them Medi-cal at this stage or I need to wait for their work permits to be approved ? My mom has a traveler's insurance, but as you mentioned, these don't cover much.

I am pretty sure your parents will need their SSN before they can apply.  Are they already in the US?

You can call medi-cal or NGOs for advice. At least get all the paperwork ready, so once they are ready, you can just mail in the medi-cal application. 

[databit 328]

There is some serious confusion here about terminology. 

 

Medicaid is health coverage for the poor administered by the states. It is available in all states but who they decide to cover is up to each state. Some states expanded coverage (32 out of 50) but this may change depending on what the government decides.

 

Medi-Cal is California's (and no other state--yes, a very stupid choice of name, even Californians can't keep it straight!) name for Medicaid, health coverage for the poor. It is administered by the state (each state has its own rules about getting it.) Legal immigrants can use this if they qualify. Income is counted. Don't let someone else claim you as a dependent on their taxes!

 

Medicare is a federal heath plan which depends on a person's having worked approximately 10 years in the US under their Social Security number.  Legal immigrants CAN buy in with their own money, but it's running close to $1,000 per month per person now, as Medicare only covers 80% so most people need to buy an additional plan to cover the 20%. There are no subsides for Medicare. Income is not counted. Use must be at least 65 years of age to qualify.

 

ACA or Obamacare is the health coverage designed primarily for working adults. Coverage varies by state. Income is counted. Don't let somebody else claim you as a dependent! It is tied in with Medicaid for subsidy help. If you live in a state that did NOT expand Medicaid, and you file taxes with zero income** there will likely be no subsidy to help you pay the cost.

 

Private insurance is bought on your own or gotten through a job. 

 

One more thing: No doctor is required to take any of these. They can refuse even private insurance.

 

**(yes, you can do this---and I recommend this to everyone for various reasons, even if they don't "have to file")

Edited August 10, 2017 by databit

[Umka36 781]

OP, Medi-cal is not ACA coverage so you can ignore this.

 

One of the criteria to qualify for PTC is that no one can claim you as a dependent. Choosing not to claim your parent as a dependent is not the same thing. If your immigrant parent has zero income and you provide 50% or more of your parents support, then they can be claimed as a dependent by someone. The elderly parent needs to make at least the exemption amount ($4,050 in 2016) in order for someone not to be able to claim them as a dependent. I just want to make sure folks reading this don't get into trouble with the IRS, so consult a professional tax advisor.

 

Alien lawfully present in the United States. Certain aliens with household income below 100% of the Federal poverty line are not eligible for Medicaid because of their immigration status. You may qualify for the PTC if your household income is less than 100% of the Federal poverty line if you meet all of the following requirements.

You or an individual in your tax family enrolled in a qualified health plan through a Marketplace.

The enrolled individual is lawfully present in the United States and is not eligible for Medicaid because of immigration status.

You otherwise qualify as an applicable taxpayer (except for the Federal poverty line percentage).

 

Applicable taxpayer. You must be an applicable taxpayer to take the PTC. Generally, you are an applicable taxpayer if your household income for 2016 (described earlier) is at least 100% but not more than 400% of the Federal poverty line for your family size (provided in Tables 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3, later) and no one can claim you as a dependent for 2016. In addition, if you were married at the end of 2016, you must file a joint return to be an applicable taxpayer unless you meet one of the exceptions described under Married taxpayers, later.

 

https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-form-8962

Edited August 10, 2017 by Umka36

[maxcool 11]

http://ccf.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Health-Insurance-for-Immigrant-Families.pdf

 

slide 27th 

 

also

In addition, some immigrant advocates have expressed concerns that noncitizens may be hesitant  to enroll in an exchange plan and apply for premium credits and cost - sharing subsidies because it  may trigger the “public charge” ground of inadmissibility and deportability. 85 An FAQ released by  the Obama Administration states:  Applying  for  Medicaid  or  CHIP,  or  getting  help  with  health  insurance  costs  in  the  Marketplace [through  an  exchange] , does not make someone a “public charge.” It will  not affect someone’s chances of becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident or U.S. citizen.  The one exception is for peop le receiving long - term care in an institution at government expense. These people may face barriers  [obtaining LPR status] .

source  https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43561.pdf

I think those support missads points