How does not having health insurance affect immigration status?

[chikaka 4]

American medical bills are just ridiculous. It is not even too much to say that is a fraud. 

[geowrian 22,337]

24 minutes ago, chikaka said:

The only thing that we should understand is, when we actually need to visit hospitals for some reason, having no insurance will cost us a ton.

More like several tons.

My charges are around 1.5-1.75 million in under the past 12 months, and are ongoing. Sure, insurance gets massive discounts, but even 20% payment on those charges is crazy expensive.

I highly, highly suggest getting coverage. Do what you need to do, but it's not worth the risk to go without coverage. Good luck.

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

And the insurance already has a negotiated price with the hospital. As an individual, you will just get the worst possible price. The internet is full of stories about how ridiculous the the hospital bills are. I mean, if they give you an aspirin in the ER, it's $30! You can buy 3000 Aspirins for $30 at Costco!

Edited March 6, 2019 by USS_Voyager

[Visitor User 253]

Lot of employers do offer health insurance from day 1

[SalishSea 17,837]

44 minutes ago, Visitor User said:

Lot of employers do offer health insurance from day 1

Or at the very least within 30 days.   I have never heard of it taking 3 months.

 

its really neither here nor there about a nominal fee for not having it.  The point is, YOU are responsible for charges you incur for health care, and your portion of those charges is actually made quite a bit more affordable with health insurance.

 

It is (or should be) a huge consideration when looking for prospective jobs, even if one is currently healthy.

 

I have been an oncology RN for 20 years, and I have see many, many people facing bankruptcy, loss of home and all other assets after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

[Visitor User 253]

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

Or at the very least within 30 days.   I have never heard of it taking 3 months.

 

its really neither here nor there about a nominal fee for not having it.  The point is, YOU are responsible for charges you incur for health care, and your portion of those charges is actually made quite a bit more affordable with health insurance.

 

It is (or should be) a huge consideration when looking for prospective jobs, even if one is currently healthy.

 

I have been an oncology RN for 20 years, and I have see many, many people facing bankruptcy, loss of home and all other assets after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

90 days is true too. It just depends on the employer. 

[nastra30 2,287]

Immigration benefits is not dependent on insurance.

In other case, once in the US you won't get fined for not having insurance; Trump got rid of the fine(which was defined as a tax by supreme court). Even in the Obama era you could have claimed exemption for Unaffordability. Who knows what the DNC will do if they control all chambers + the executive in 2020 election; will fine be re-introduced by them?  We'll see.

[Mike E 11,739]

Sorry about your work situation. 

 

You can sign up for COBRA through your former employer.  It can be retroactive up to 60 days. For example. Joe loses his job on Feb 1. Joe doesn’t need any medical attention for next 60 days and finds another job 60 days later. He doesn’t pay another insurance premiums for those 60 days. 

 

Steve  also lost his job on Feb 1 and is healthy through the end of February. On March 15 he gets sick and has to go to the hospital. Faced with a $100,000 hospital bill he activates COBRA retroactively, sends two insurance premiums of about $1000 each for February and March, and ends up with net hospital bill of $500 because he was covered by insurance. 

 

Monica lost her job on Feb 1.  59 days later she still has no job. She sends three COBRA payments to cover Feb, Mar, and Apr.  

 

Under the old Obama care rules all three people (and their families) would be considered covered and would pay zero penalty.  

 

Ihder Trumo, starting Jan 1, it doesn’t matter because there is no penalty. 

 

You should have or will receive a cobra packet within a few weeks after losing your job.  If not call the benefits department at your old company.  

 

As for your immigration benefits, if you end up purchasing an ACA plan, as long as it isn’t Medicaid you are fine. 

 

 

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

The fine was repealed for 2019.

ACA is not a public charge. My husband and I are both on it, as my job does not provide health benefits.

I highly suggest getting on SOMETHING. 

Edited March 7, 2019 by Sarah&Facundo

[Deanwinchester 11]

17 hours ago, Boiler said:

That was an Obama thing, Trump got rid of it.

Yeah now the rise in rates are steeper. Trump is so awesome.

[junkmart 320]

20 hours ago, chikaka said:

I am married to a US citizen and I have a conditional green card. Unfortunately, I lost my job and the health insurance I had through my employer, which was covering myself (the immigrant) and my US spouse.

 

Now we are both not covered by any insurance, and I know this is bad. Since we need to look for and get a job, and most likely have to wait for the first 3 months after getting a job for employer-based insurance to kick in, we have to purchase a plan on our own.

 

But my concern is, does buying a cheap insurance (ACA???) affect my immigration status? I am aware that USCIS doesn't want immigrants to rely on the governmental aid, like they dont want us to be a public  charge. So I am lost.

I don't know what kind of insurance is considered governmental aid. 

 

I don't want to spend a lot of money on insurance because I am jobless now, and I want to keep the saving I have for as long as possible until I can get a new job and the employer-based insurance. 

 

My another question is, do I have to get the same insurance plan that I had through my employer? I read about COBRA, and it was very confusing too. 

If you can't afford insurance, you may qualify for exemptions.

[junkmart 320]

20 hours ago, Khallaf said:

your spouse doesn't have a job where they are given health insurance?

 

its a life even when one spouse losses their health insurance the other can enroll with their company

 

Unless they work for a very large company (500+ employees), half of small employers do not provide or offer health insurance.

[Khallaf 650]

2 minutes ago, junkmart said:

Unless they work for a very large company (500+ employees), half of small employers do not provide or offer health insurance.

I work for a small furniture company family owed less than 50 employees and they offer not only life insurance but aflac

 

[junkmart 320]

8 minutes ago, Khallaf said:

I work for a small furniture company family owed less than 50 employees and they offer not only life insurance but aflac

 

You're very lucky. So does the company I work for now. I consider myself lucky, too, as I would not be able to afford it myself. Prior to my company providing insurance, I had purchased my own insurance on the private market. This was during Bush2. My premium kept going up to over $500 a month. Still today about 50% of small employers to not offer any health insurance.

[Jenny17655 284]

But you should go apply for Medicaid if you have no income