Health insurance for new Immigrant(WA State).

[np2fast 3]

Hey all,

 

My wife will be making the big move in the next few days and we are trying to figure out some last minute stuff. 

Health insurance is a big one!

 

So while she is unemployed, what are her options for insurance? I just started at a new company not too long ago, and still waiting for a few more weeks till my insurance kicks in. I spoke to HR about adding her and they said it would be about $300-400 since she is not subsidized by the company. 

 

What other options do we have? We are in Washington state, so any specific information would be much appreciated. 

Also, what all would she need to apply? SSN?

 

Thanks in advance. 

[RLA 324]

There are short-term insurances for cases like yours.  If you turn off your adblocker you will probably find one or two leads. Or you google fiancé visa medical insurance.  (VJ won‘t let me post the direct link.)

Edited April 17, 2018 by RLA

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

Here is what I have found.  

 

Don't worry about insurance for her.  If you need to see a doctor just tell them you are self pay cash. You will get services at a much cheaper rate than a person with insurance.

 

If for some reason she need hospital care, you can usually talk them down about 90% or even have the bill waive if she is not working.

 

 

[geowrian 22,338]

I would not suggest relying on service providers to drop down the charges if somebody requires treatment. That's playing with fire. While health insurance is quite expensive, not having it can become massively more expensive.

Edited April 17, 2018 by geowrian

[Boiler 46,107]

You have a cheap option add her as soon as you can.

[yuna628 9,713]

7 hours ago, np2fast said:

Hey all,

 

My wife will be making the big move in the next few days and we are trying to figure out some last minute stuff. 

Health insurance is a big one!

 

So while she is unemployed, what are her options for insurance? I just started at a new company not too long ago, and still waiting for a few more weeks till my insurance kicks in. I spoke to HR about adding her and they said it would be about $300-400 since she is not subsidized by the company. 

 

What other options do we have? We are in Washington state, so any specific information would be much appreciated. 

Also, what all would she need to apply? SSN?

 

Thanks in advance. 

Hi OP:

 

Well, typical options in ease of use are as follows:

1) add her to your work plan

2) buy her a plan privately

3)sign her up to the state or federal exchange

 

As you can see the number your HR has quoted may be expensive to you (I'd say that when you see premium for other options you may change your mind on that), however, it is doubtful you'll find anything much cheaper. There is sticker shock in insurance coverage...

 

By law an SSN is not needed to obtain health insurance, however you should prepare to encounter those who do not understand that. You said she is your wife, so you should be able to obtain an SSN for her. If she is arriving on a marriage visa and you do not anticipate her being unemployed for very long, you could also purchase a short term plan specifically marketed towards immigrants (keep in mind that it offers no coverage for pre-existing conditions). But keep in mind, for the future, having a joint plan together would actually be good evidence of comingling later on. If you have the option to add her to your insurance, I'd add her as soon as possible, but explore whatever options work for you.

 

 

3 hours ago, Chris Duffy said:

Here is what I have found.  

 

Don't worry about insurance for her.  If you need to see a doctor just tell them you are self pay cash. You will get services at a much cheaper rate than a person with insurance.

 

If for some reason she need hospital care, you can usually talk them down about 90% or even have the bill waive if she is not working.

 

 

As a person who was once uninsured for many years of my life, I find it inherently irresponsible to advise someone to do this. And believe me, I had the big hospital bill, and paid every single dime and even after I paid it all, they still tried to take me to collections. Stuff like that can ruin a person. I would never advocate someone go without insurance if they can afford it. There are many that cannot afford it and do not have any good options.. they choose to go without because there's nothing else they can do, but that is a different matter entirely. There are others that are financially stable and wealthy enough to not have insurance, and that is also their choice, even though it may not be in their best interest either.

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

3 hours ago, yuna628 said:

 

As a person who was once uninsured for many years of my life, I find it inherently irresponsible to advise someone to do this. And believe me, I had the big hospital bill, and paid every single dime and even after I paid it all, they still tried to take me to collections. Stuff like that can ruin a person. I would never advocate someone go without insurance if they can afford it. There are many that cannot afford it and do not have any good options.. they choose to go without because there's nothing else they can do, but that is a different matter entirely. There are others that are financially stable and wealthy enough to not have insurance, and that is also their choice, even though it may not be in their best interest either.

I have had no medical insurance for over 20 years.  Only one time I went to ER and bill was around 8K, the hospital worked it down to almost nothing, then I did some haggling and they removed all charges. You just have to know how to play the game.

 

We have county hospitals in Texas that are offset by the taxpayers on their property taxes in Dallas and Ft. Worth area, they over pay the staff by large portions. Parkland in Dallas, and JPS in Fort Worth.  They are so fush with cash they give it away to staff.

 

  For nurses if you don't work on a Friday and they are short staffed they will give $100 bonus to come in and work a half shift at JPS in Fort Worth.

 

Learn how the system is and learn how to play the game, and Win.........

[Umka36 781]

What happens when you lose?

[geowrian 22,338]

Yeah, it's definitely possible. But it's a heck of a gamble. A reckless one even. One day you could be perfectly fine and the next you're facing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in charges. Even with negotiating them down considerably, that's not within most people's means to pay out of pocket. And they have no obligation to do negotiate them down...it's a hope they will do so versus making them go through collections.

 

I don't think one particular experience with the ER getting $8k knocked down/out is much of a basis for others not getting health insurance.

 

My father had a heart attack last year. He's never had any sort of serious medical issues before in his life. The bill for that was over $80,000 in the first week, and ongoing care has been in the tens of thousands of dollars as well, and will continue to be quite expensive for a while still. I'm absolutely certain he could knock down those bills considerably if he didn't have insurance, but hospitals and their workers don't work for free...it still would have devastated him financially at the very least.

 

Update:

I actually wrote the above on Tuesday but didn't post it. Since then, I have received word that I will be incurring roughly $15,000 in diagnostic charges over the next 2 weeks, and seemingly more likely 6 (or more) digits in additional care in the coming year or two year...depending on additional results. Prior to yesterday, I've never had more than a simple x-ray for a sprain done in my life.

As of right now, my actual out of pocket expenses with health insurance will be $30. I have no idea on future charges yet, but after studying my coverage the past few hours, I think I'll be able to manage. I know I would be financially devastated or even broken if I did not have coverage. No amount of negotiating prices would get around that. And to be honest, without insurance, I likely wouldn't have opted for the diagnostic tests leading to this.