Health Insurance

[AusUsa 1]

Hi Everyone, 

 

Wondering if someone may know the answer to this...

 

I am due to move to the US end of this month on my K1 visa and we are getting married early june. Sadly, I have just been diagnosed last week with Otosclerosis (a disease which causes abnormal bone growth in the middle ear) which has caused quite a significant hearing loss in both my ears.... I am only in my late 20's  .

 

My options are to get hearing aids (which i was told could take up to 2 months in Australia to organise) or to have surgery OR to do nothing for a while. I don't have enough time before my wedding to get a hearing aid or to have surgery before I have to leave Australia  . 

 

Which brings me to my question.... has anyone had experience with health insurance over in the US for pre-existing conditions? If there are waiting periods for coverage etc? I find the health care system a bit confusing! The cost/insurance etc would be a non-issue if i was able to have it all done here in Australia!  My fiancee has health insurance which I will be added to once we are married , but I am just worried because my condition is technically pre-existing and i'm worried about waiting periods especially if my hearing continues to diminish. I did not know I had this disease when I did my medical as couple of months ago so there is no record of it so im not sure if it will apply to me ?  Ideally I would like to immediately look into hearing aids and/or surgery once we are married and i am covered. 

 

Any help would be so appreciated!

[initials123 6]

On 3/7/2017 at 1:08 AM, AusUsa said:

Hi Everyone, 

 

Wondering if someone may know the answer to this...

 

I am due to move to the US end of this month on my K1 visa and we are getting married early june. Sadly, I have just been diagnosed last week with Otosclerosis (a disease which causes abnormal bone growth in the middle ear) which has caused quite a significant hearing loss in both my ears.... I am only in my late 20's  .

 

My options are to get hearing aids (which i was told could take up to 2 months in Australia to organise) or to have surgery OR to do nothing for a while. I don't have enough time before my wedding to get a hearing aid or to have surgery before I have to leave Australia  . 

 

Which brings me to my question.... has anyone had experience with health insurance over in the US for pre-existing conditions? If there are waiting periods for coverage etc? I find the health care system a bit confusing! The cost/insurance etc would be a non-issue if i was able to have it all done here in Australia!  My fiancee has health insurance which I will be added to once we are married , but I am just worried because my condition is technically pre-existing and i'm worried about waiting periods especially if my hearing continues to diminish. I did not know I had this disease when I did my medical as couple of months ago so there is no record of it so im not sure if it will apply to me ?  Ideally I would like to immediately look into hearing aids and/or surgery once we are married and i am covered. 

 

Any help would be so appreciated!

 

I work in the medical field and have had to deal with insurance for years, but unfortunately the US is in a huge flux as to what is going to happen to health insurance right now. At the current moment you can be covered and it is technically illegal for the company to deny or raise your rates due to a pre-existing condition. This was not always the case... until about 10ish years ago you could be denied easily for pre-existing conditions. So as of now you should be able to jump on your spouse's insurance and get the treatment you need quickly, but keep an ear to the ground with the repeal of many health reforms that may be processed in the next few months. I hope you get this taken care of without any problem!!!