HIV positive accompanying on EB3 immigrant visa

[SalishSea 17,980]

6 minutes ago, anoras87 said:

my bad, i meant by, that the drug has a low copay as per my brother. i cannot vouched whether he was looking on the right figure though

Copays are set by individual health insurance plans.  You should contact the plan directly to find out what percentage you will be expected to pay out of pocket.

11 minutes ago, anoras87 said:

well, I know exactly it isnt the best place to live in the states, but at the time, it was the only employer who was willing to sponsor me wayback 9 years ago. and I was sort of tied up by the contract because if I drop the contract after signing in, i would have to pay in excess of 15,000 USD. 

9 years ago????

[anoras87 9]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

Copays are set by individual health insurance plans.  You should contact the plan directly to find out what percentage you will be expected to pay out of pocket.

I will take note of that and will find a way to contact the health insurance company directly. Thank you

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

Copays are set by individual health insurance plans.  You should contact the plan directly to find out what percentage you will be expected to pay out of pocket.

9 years ago????

I know it seem odd but because I am from the Philippines and the visa for US immigration for my country was backlogged for almost a decade, I had to wait that long. 

[Ontarkie 14,320]

Your brother is probably talking about the drug company itself. I have asthma and no drug coverage so I can get a coupon form their website. It helps but not by much. 

Now my oldest boy gets injections for his psoriasis and because going to school and working he didn't make enough to cover even one injection he qualified for their program and he got his injections for free. This only works though if you're low income. You would not be considered that at what they will be paying you and as you are married that is also his income. He may qualify for some help in the form of coupons but they don't pay for it all. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

9 hours ago, anoras87 said:

I have not asked about insurance coverage for the drugs he is currently taking but my brother who is currently working as a doctor in the states told me it is highly subsidized but as for figures, i have no idea as for now. 

I will be working in North Dakota, 

He doesn’t mean subsidized he means covered by insurance.

 

Check on your health / prescription coverage but health insurance coverage usually overcomes a medical public charge concern.

 

[jlc201 47]

You have nothing  to worry about. As long as you have your nursing job (and nurses are in high demand in the US), your husband is not at risk of becoming a public charge. Since you will have insurance through your employer,  your husband can also be covered by your insurance. Any commercial health insurance policy will be required to cover HIV meds, and even if you have a high copay, most drug companies offer copay assistance for HIV meds (for pts with commercial insurance) so that they will pick up the tab for up to $8,000/year in copays. (The drug companies are willing to eat the cost of your $20-100 copay if it means your insurance pays the rest of the $2,000/month they are charging.) Expect to wait 8 weeks for final results of his sputum cultures.

[Boiler 45,752]

This had occurred to me but I did not know how much the drugs would cost.

 

Basically the EB3 deal includes working for x years at a wage that will pass Labour Certification but is low comparable to what they would otherwise have to pay.

 

I assume they know most will move on after the lock in period, move to where they want to live and at the going salary.

 

But they get someone and save a chunk of change in the meantime.

 

However not in this case as it comes with a guaranteed medication cost.

 

Well you may say the Insurer pays, well no, especially not for large employers, claims determine future premiums and for someone like a Hospital they probably do not insure smaller costs, the Insurer basically handles the claims for a fee and the Insurance covers large claims / or what is called stop loss - if there is a much larger total of claims in a given year than would normally be expected.

[anoras87 9]

4 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

He doesn’t mean subsidized he means covered by insurance.

 

Check on your health / prescription coverage but health insurance coverage usually overcomes a medical public charge concern.

 

Im pretty sure his meds is covered by my health insurance but my question is how will i show it to the consul if asked since im not yet in the states ? Will the email from my HR stating that he can be under my insurance suffice? Or does the consul knows thAt my employer will have a private insurance place? Thanks

[anoras87 9]

4 hours ago, jlc201 said:

You have nothing  to worry about. As long as you have your nursing job (and nurses are in high demand in the US), your husband is not at risk of becoming a public charge. Since you will have insurance through your employer,  your husband can also be covered by your insurance. Any commercial health insurance policy will be required to cover HIV meds, and even if you have a high copay, most drug companies offer copay assistance for HIV meds (for pts with commercial insurance) so that they will pick up the tab for up to $8,000/year in copays. (The drug companies are willing to eat the cost of your $20-100 copay if it means your insurance pays the rest of the $2,000/month they are charging.) Expect to wait 8 weeks for final results of his sputum cultures.

Thanks for replying, does the consul knows that my employer has a private insurance in place? Or do i have to submit proof? Apparently, i am still in the UK at the moment and im guessing my insurance wouldnt start to kick in 2 months from when i arrive and start workin. 

[anoras87 9]

10 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

Your brother is probably talking about the drug company itself. I have asthma and no drug coverage so I can get a coupon form their website. It helps but not by much. 

Now my oldest boy gets injections for his psoriasis and because going to school and working he didn't make enough to cover even one injection he qualified for their program and he got his injections for free. This only works though if you're low income. You would not be considered that at what they will be paying you and as you are married that is also his income. He may qualify for some help in the form of coupons but they don't pay for it all. 

I clarified it with my brother, he said, the medication for hiv is always covered most of the time by insurance as the law was enacted to prevent insurance company from denying coverage for a pre existing condition such as hiv, i am aware that there is a copay and im more than willing to pay for it if thats the case. I know some

companies offers coupon etc, and it saves a few bucks from having it. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

3 hours ago, anoras87 said:

Thanks for replying, does the consul knows that my employer has a private insurance in place? Or do i have to submit proof? Apparently, i am still in the UK at the moment and im guessing my insurance wouldnt start to kick in 2 months from when i arrive and start workin. 

You (should) only have to show the job salary and benefits, including medical, to overcome the public charge issue.

 

Good luck

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

18 hours ago, anoras87 said:

I have not asked about insurance coverage for the drugs he is currently taking but my brother who is currently working as a doctor in the states told me it is highly subsidized but as for figures, i have no idea as for now. 

I will be working in North Dakota, 

 

 The big hospitals in ND have terrible insurance plans. Expect to have no leftover money after you pay your healthcare costs.

 

I'll PM you. 

Edited August 11, 2019 by N-o-l-a

[Love To Teach 161]

Not to be insulting, BUT wouldn't they look carefully at someone who is bringing over a guaranteed high-cost medical condition for the rest of his life? One way or the other, unless something changes, other insured people end up paying for a person's high cost illness, whether it be premiums or drug costs. Or is this not true? If this nurse loses her job or becomes unable to work (and that happens a lot) he would become an expensive public charge, as would anyone with a high-cost condition. Just wondering if that plays into the decision. For an example, maybe not just like this, but an example of what can happen. My brother gets about 1400 a month in disability because he has muscular dystrophy to the point he sits in bed all day because moving exhausts him. He is to the point where he can walk with his walker maybe 10 feet. He makes 66 too much a month to get Medicaid. He cannot get home health care because he can manage to get in his wheelchair from his bed (where he stays all day) and can wipe his butt (sorry, but being blunt). So he does not  qualify for any home health care. He must pay over 1000 a month for his medicine. Thank God he can live with his son, but everyone in the family works, so he is alone during the day. If he wasn't able to live with his son (he can't get into my house because of the steps and can't get in my bathtub), a person like him who had no family would be on the streets. I tell you this just as an example of what can happen so easily. When he lived in Florida with his girlfriend, who is also disabled, he could get 30 hours of home health care and had small medicine copays. Both of their disability checks went to pay living expenses. His gf had to go live with her daughter because of health issues, so in just a few weeks time, he had to make a major life change. I am telling this because it shows how quickly life circumstances can change, especially when you have a chronic disease. Health care costs can quickly overwhelm a family or person. Sorry to go on so long.

[Boiler 45,752]

Just now, Love To Teach said:

Not to be insulting, BUT wouldn't they look carefully at someone who is bringing over a guaranteed high-cost medical condition for the rest of his life? One way or the other, unless something changes, other insured people end up paying for a person's high cost illness, whether it be premiums or drug costs. Or is this not true? If this nurse loses her job or becomes unable to work (and that happens a lot) he would become an expensive public charge, as would anyone with a high-cost condition. Just wondering if that plays into the decision. For an example, maybe not just like this, but an example of what can happen. My brother gets about 1400 a month in disability because he has muscular dystrophy to the point he sits in bed all day because moving exhausts him. He is to the point where he can walk with his walker maybe 10 feet. He makes 66 too much a month to get Medicaid. He cannot get home health care because he can manage to get in his wheelchair from his bed (where he stays all day) and can wipe his butt (sorry, but being blunt). So he does not  qualify for any home health care. He must pay over 1000 a month for his medicine. Thank God he can live with his son, but everyone in the family works, so he is alone during the day. If he wasn't able to live with his son (he can't get into my house because of the steps and can't get in my bathtub), a person like him who had no family would be on the streets. I tell you this just as an example of what can happen so easily. When he lived in Florida with his girlfriend, who is also disabled, he could get 30 hours of home health care and had small medicine copays. Both of their disability checks went to pay living expenses. His gf had to go live with her daughter because of health issues, so in just a few weeks time, he had to make a major life change. I am telling this because it shows how quickly life circumstances can change, especially when you have a chronic disease. Health care costs can quickly overwhelm a family or person. Sorry to go on so long.

The US does not at the moment, well has not, I think that is because there is a disconnect between the Feds for Immigration and how the US operates health care.

 

Places like New Zealand do, they asses what the likely costs will be and if it is over a certain amount then you can not immigrate. I remember reading about a family who had an offer to move, some high powered IT job, one of their children had a permanent disability, so they could have moved, the child could not qualify so they did not.

[anoras87 9]

6 minutes ago, Love To Teach said:

Not to be insulting, BUT wouldn't they look carefully at someone who is bringing over a guaranteed high-cost medical condition for the rest of his life? One way or the other, unless something changes, other insured people end up paying for a person's high cost illness, whether it be premiums or drug costs. Or is this not true? If this nurse loses her job or becomes unable to work (and that happens a lot) he would become an expensive public charge, as would anyone with a high-cost condition. Just wondering if that plays into the decision. For an example, maybe not just like this, but an example of what can happen. My brother gets about 1400 a month in disability because he has muscular dystrophy to the point he sits in bed all day because moving exhausts him. He is to the point where he can walk with his walker maybe 10 feet. He makes 66 too much a month to get Medicaid. He cannot get home health care because he can manage to get in his wheelchair from his bed (where he stays all day) and can wipe his butt (sorry, but being blunt). So he does not  qualify for any home health care. He must pay over 1000 a month for his medicine. Thank God he can live with his son, but everyone in the family works, so he is alone during the day. If he wasn't able to live with his son (he can't get into my house because of the steps and can't get in my bathtub), a person like him who had no family would be on the streets. I tell you this just as an example of what can happen so easily. When he lived in Florida with his girlfriend, who is also disabled, he could get 30 hours of home health care and had small medicine copays. Both of their disability checks went to pay living expenses. His gf had to go live with her daughter because of health issues, so in just a few weeks time, he had to make a major life change. I am telling this because it shows how quickly life circumstances can change, especially when you have a chronic disease. Health care costs can quickly overwhelm a family or person. Sorry to go on so long.

 

Thank you for your response. I respect your opinion. but let me point out some interesting facts that you raised by quoting you with your statements, 

 

wouldn't they look carefully at someone who is bringing over a guaranteed high-cost medical condition for the rest of his life?

- No, because, unlike the UK and other EU countries where healthcare is free for its residents and citizen, US does not have a national health service much like here in the UK so government cannot dictate who to bring other than those sited on the Immigration and Nationality act,  He is my husband,  so he qualifies as my dependent  

 

One way or the other, unless something changes, other insured people end up paying for a person's high cost illness, whether it be premiums or drug costs.- It's true, there is a huge possibility that I might be paying my husband's high cost of illness thru premiums, but that is my own money, so I do not see why the government would intervene. 

 

If this nurse loses her job or becomes unable to work (and that happens a lot) he would become an expensive public charge, as would anyone with a high-cost condition. Just wondering if that plays into the decision. accordign to USCIS, they look at the persons totality of circumstances before deciding whether or not he becomes a public charge, as per definition, an alien can become a public charge if he is PRIMARILY dependent on government funds, factors such as age, health, financial status, family, skills, experience are what the Consul are consdering before he decides whether an alien becomes a public charge. 

 

For an example, maybe not just like this, but an example of what can happen. My brother gets about 1400 a month in disability because he has muscular dystrophy to the point he sits in bed all day because moving exhausts him. He is to the point where he can walk with his walker maybe 10 feet. He makes 66 too much a month to get Medicaid. He cannot get home health care because he can manage to get in his wheelchair from his bed (where he stays all day) and can wipe his butt (sorry, but being blunt). So he does not  qualify for any home health care. He must pay over 1000 a month for his medicine. Thank God he can live with his son, but everyone in the family works, so he is alone during the day. If he wasn't able to live with his son (he can't get into my house because of the steps and can't get in my bathtub), a person like him who had no family would be on the streets. I tell you this just as an example of what can happen so easily. When he lived in Florida with his girlfriend, who is also disabled, he could get 30 hours of home health care and had small medicine copays. Both of their disability checks went to pay living expenses. His gf had to go live with her daughter because of health issues, so in just a few weeks time, he had to make a major life change. I am telling this because it shows how quickly life circumstances can change, especially when you have a chronic disease. Health care costs can quickly overwhelm a family or person. Sorry to go on so long.-

your brother's disability is complete different from my husband, to start with, my husband although diagnosed with HIV but has been undetectable since 2014, and his cd4 count although not at its best but as per the Infectious Disease Specialist, should be stable when relating to its viral load. My husband has been employed since his diagnosis and has never had any hospitalization related to hiv. your brother on the other has a muscular disorder the results in increasing weakness and eventually inability to walk, his disorder unfortunately affects his productivity whereas for someone with HIV, so long as they keep up to date with their medication and continues to be undetectable, they can live a normal life just like anyone else.  so your case comparison between your brother and my husband has a wide disproportionate common ground and although both of them can be considered as disability, but the circumstances are completely different let alone the prognosis and etiology. 

 

[anoras87 9]

26 minutes ago, Love To Teach said:

Not to be insulting, BUT wouldn't they look carefully at someone who is bringing over a guaranteed high-cost medical condition for the rest of his life? One way or the other, unless something changes, other insured people end up paying for a person's high cost illness, whether it be premiums or drug costs. Or is this not true? If this nurse loses her job or becomes unable to work (and that happens a lot) he would become an expensive public charge, as would anyone with a high-cost condition. Just wondering if that plays into the decision. For an example, maybe not just like this, but an example of what can happen. My brother gets about 1400 a month in disability because he has muscular dystrophy to the point he sits in bed all day because moving exhausts him. He is to the point where he can walk with his walker maybe 10 feet. He makes 66 too much a month to get Medicaid. He cannot get home health care because he can manage to get in his wheelchair from his bed (where he stays all day) and can wipe his butt (sorry, but being blunt). So he does not  qualify for any home health care. He must pay over 1000 a month for his medicine. Thank God he can live with his son, but everyone in the family works, so he is alone during the day. If he wasn't able to live with his son (he can't get into my house because of the steps and can't get in my bathtub), a person like him who had no family would be on the streets. I tell you this just as an example of what can happen so easily. When he lived in Florida with his girlfriend, who is also disabled, he could get 30 hours of home health care and had small medicine copays. Both of their disability checks went to pay living expenses. His gf had to go live with her daughter because of health issues, so in just a few weeks time, he had to make a major life change. I am telling this because it shows how quickly life circumstances can change, especially when you have a chronic disease. Health care costs can quickly overwhelm a family or person. Sorry to go on so long.

If I may, the best comparison would be someone living with HIV and someone living with Diabetes Type 2 or someone with Hypertension, these diseases are incurable but treatable,