Health insurance for kids

[clairebear24 3]

Hi everyone! I just want to ask about health insurance for new immigrants to the US, I have 2 small kids below 5 y/o and I just wanna make sure that they're covered in case of minor injuries or whatever. What would you guys recommend? Thank you!

[Georgia16 2,858]

Look in this forum, there have been a couple of post about it lately.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/15-moving-to-the-us-and-your-new-life-in-america/

[Brazil2USA2016 7]

Check with the State. I know in Pennsylvania they have CHIP, which is available to anyone regardless of status or income. It's free for many people.

[Marrienne 112]

Hey there!

I have been here 1 month today and I too have two children who are not USCs. We applied for Medicaid and they got ONLY Emergency (Life or Death) Medicaid.
A week after we arrived in the US my son became VERY ill, we had no primary doctor and you cannot get OTC antibiotics so after three days of him getting worse, I took him to the hospital. They charged us $250 which we need to pay as Medicaid denied to pay (it wasn't life or death even though he WAS seriously ill). So we must pay out of pocket. We have 3 months to pay otherwise it will go to a collection agency.

So here is what I have found out:
If your kids are not USCs, you only get Emergency Medicaid.
You can get "straight" Medicaid if they have been here 5 years (they can probably become citizens in 3 years though?).

You can apply for CHIP but not sure if all states have it. If they do, you still pay a co-pay but it might be low. We don't have jobs yet so it is only $15 per child per visit. We got antibiotics for free at out pharmacy but not all pharmacies allow this.

Then the other problem as we found out the hard way it to find a doctor that a) takes Medicaid and b) does not have a waiting list 10 months long!!

You must find a doctor who takes Medicaid AND accepts new patients. TO give you an idea, we live in Michigan. There were two doctors that accepted Medicaid and take new patients. One could schedule us in for the 23rd April *2017* and the other for May 2017!!!!
We finally applied through CHIP and as a personal favor, found someone to accept them next week because you need paperwork (physical) for school. Also I assume your 5yo will go to kindergarten? They will have a screening for immunizations so make sure you have those with you and get a provider in case they deem he is missing something (this is free).

If you cannot get a doctor for the physical, many places offer then as walk ins for $50 or so.

Now, remember, each State in the US is different, it is like being in a foreign country it feels like. Different rules, different laws etc. You might end up in a State where health care will come easier for new immigrants, you never know.
I have only been here a month and I have already taken 2 of my 3 to Urgent Care. My USC 2 year old fell and hurt her arm. We got a bill of $1000!!!!!! Medicaid paid for it because she is a USC. Then my 10 year old got strep throat and couldn't even breathe and we got a bill for $250 which Medicaid will not pay for and we have to pay ourselves.

The BEST course of action for you is to get a job with benefits ASAP. This is the ONLY way you can have quality and FAST health care. Note that benefits do not start for all jobs, immediately but that will depend on the work you do.

I hope this helps!! PM me any time!!

[f f 725]

moving from a foreign country to the usa qualfies you for a special enrollment period with Obamacare. there are plenty of high deductible plans that are pretty cheap and will prevent you from going broke by a trip to the emergency room. you do however need to sign up within 30 or 60 days (I forget the time frame) of arriving for the window to be open or else you need to wait for open enrollment.