Mother/Father coming to USA . Health insurance concerns / Cost

[Villanelle 4,122]

2 hours ago, Lazybones18 said:

Medi-cal will look at my parents income as they are adults and not ours. 

 

We are not planning to claim them as dependents on our tax return either so our income is will not play a role in their medi-cal elibility

 

this is what I know but I might be wrong ? 

 

Lastly, Medi-cal is not a mean tested benefit so there is no violation of i864 here. 

 

 

You are understanding it correctly.

CA is a very immigrant friendly state. They have their own state funded programs they allow immigrants to use. Because they are state funded and not federally funded the federal gov has no input on them.  Some programs are funded by both state and federal funds because it was just easier for the state to do it that way rather than create a whole new program. Its important to know what you are applying for and to confirm with the worker helping you that you are in fact not getting federal benefits and that they have you entered into the system designated properly so the benefits you are getting are being given with state funds and not federal funds. Med cal also considers assets btw. 

 

You are correct in how they determine household size and such. I am not sure though if you are 'pretending to not understand' what SussieQQQ was saying or if you really dont get it. 

 

For your parents to claim they are in no need of any assistance because their children are high income/fully responsible/ funding treatment is not an issue for the interview. Those were your words. For the interview you are going to claim no assistance will be needed yet later you will apply for Med Cal and for the Med Cal application-   there is no high income or other person responsible nor available funding for their treatment. Do you see the issue in having X be for one set of circumstances and for Y as another? 

 

Why dont you tell them at the interview that they qualify for Med Cal and plan to take advantage of it? You obviously understand things enough to know they will be looked at more favorably one way vs the other. I want to use the word misrepresentation here but because that word has a very specific definition in immigration I think perhaps the better term to use is deceptive or misleading. Neither of which is a good idea in the interview. If you are going to apply for Med Cal because they qualify then you need to say so in the interview. Do not mislead them or attempt to present the overall financial picture differently depending on who is asking. 

 

 

[pm5k 129]

5 hours ago, Mike E said:

Bronze and Silver ACA plans for low income folks are can be inexpensive (under $100 depending on the income). Income  is based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income. Lawful Permanent Residents are eligible for ACA.

 

The deductibles however are high. 

 

https://www.coveredca.com/learning-center/information-for-immigrants/

 

 

Per https://www.chhs.ca.gov/blog/2021/03/15/alert-important-change-to-public-charge-rule/ , Medi-Cal (except for long term care) is no longer public charge. This policy has changed several times.

Some HMOs are affordable.

[Lazybones18 261]

6 minutes ago, pm5k said:

Some HMOs are affordable.

I haven't looked into ACA much but it seems like its part of Medicaid expansion ? if that's the case should we stay away from it as we will be subsidized using federal funds - could cause problem with immigration / i864 violation ?

my buddy who lives in San Diego got health insurance from Tijuana for his family. Its a company called Simnsa. its very fairly priced and for all emergencies if you utilize USA healthcare they will pay for it. However, check-ups, surgeries, treatements etc you have to go to the other side. He said they have start of the art providers and facilities. only works if they are close to the border though. 

 

1 hour ago, Villanelle said:

Why don't you tell them at the interview that they qualify for Med Cal and plan to take advantage of it? 

 

 

Parents will be interviewing not me. Parents have no idea about Medi-cal or what healthcare arrangements we are making for them. So why should they go out of the way and make such statements if not asked ? I highly doubt they even ask this question regarding Medi-cal. 

There is no deception here. We ourselves dont know if we will be using Medi-cal. Its a possibility but not 100%. 

Ethically speaking I have no issues for them utilizing medi-cal. This is a whole seperate debate and not the point of this thread. 

 

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

@Lazybones18 tried to send you a message but you can't receive messages (?).

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

8 minutes ago, Lazybones18 said:

my buddy who lives in San Diego got health insurance from Tijuana for his family. Its a company called Simnsa. its very fairly priced and for all emergencies if you utilize USA healthcare they will pay for it. However, check-ups, surgeries, treatements etc you have to go to the other side. He said they have start of the art providers and facilities. only works if they are close to the border though

That sounds like a happy middle point. The issue with that though is that if you get surgery outside the US and there is a complication, US doctors will not touch it, because there are too many liabilities. Well, I know that from anecdotal evidence. 

 

10 minutes ago, Lazybones18 said:

Parents will be interviewing not me. Parents have no idea about Medi-cal or what healthcare arrangements we are making for them. So why should they go out of the way and make such statements if not asked ? I highly doubt they even ask this question regarding Medi-cal. 

There is no deception here. We ourselves dont know if we will be using Medi-cal. Its a possibility but not 100%. 

Ethically speaking I have no issues for them utilizing medi-cal. This is a whole seperate debate and not the point of this thread. 

 

I do not think that a consular officer will expect your parents to have a full understanding of the US health care system and insurance options. If asked, they can say you are researching options. (And you are)

Your parents will hand their medical to the consular officer. You are presenting a solid I-864. They will get their immigrant visa and eventually their green cards. 

If Medi-cal eligibility criteria changes by then, maybe they won't qualify but for now it seems like they would qualify. 

Truth is that if your parents we doing AOS instead of consular processing, they would likely get their green cards by mail. Why? Because you are presenting a solid I-864. I sponsored my mother and she got hers by mail. 

[Cathi 5,748]

15 minutes ago, Lazybones18 said:

I haven't looked into ACA much but it seems like its part of Medicaid expansion ? if that's the case should we stay away from it as we will be subsidized using federal funds - could cause problem with immigration / i864 violation ?

my buddy who lives in San Diego got health insurance from Tijuana for his family. Its a company called Simnsa. its very fairly priced and for all emergencies if you utilize USA healthcare they will pay for it. However, check-ups, surgeries, treatements etc you have to go to the other side. He said they have start of the art providers and facilities. only works if they are close to the border though. 

 

Parents will be interviewing not me. Parents have no idea about Medi-cal or what healthcare arrangements we are making for them. So why should they go out of the way and make such statements if not asked ? I highly doubt they even ask this question regarding Medi-cal. 

There is no deception here. We ourselves dont know if we will be using Medi-cal. Its a possibility but not 100%. 

Ethically speaking I have no issues for them utilizing medi-cal. This is a whole seperate debate and not the point of this thread. 

 

There is obvious deception and you can very easily explain to you parents how Medi-Cal works and have THEM explain that's what they plan to do because they will absolutely 100% be asked how they will be able to afford to pay for healthcare especially with neither of them ever planning to work. They will never, ever qualify for Medicare.

 

AGAIN, are you acting dumb on purpose? You CANNOT claim to be high income and then turn around and claim  low income in order for your parents to get Medi-Cal

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

37 minutes ago, Lazybones18 said:

Parents have no idea about Medi-cal or what healthcare arrangements we are making for them. So why should they go out of the way and make such statements if not asked

So if they’re asked they’re just going to shrug their shoulders and say “we don’t know”? We have seen reports here of parents with chronic health conditions put on AP pending submission of a detailed explanation of how their expected medical costs are going to be funded. We have seen reports of people earning way above the poverty guidelines refused for public charge for parental health reasons (told to get joint sponsor). These may not be common events, but neither I think is the kind of significant health issues your father has, especially at a relatively early age for these issues, which signifies many years of expense ahead.

Separately, if my parent had dementia and chronic heart issues among others, I wouldn’t be trying to save money by making him go across the border for all non emergency treatment, even if he lived right at the end of the San Ysidro bridge, for all sorts of reasons. YMMV. 

[Lazybones18 261]

4 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

So if they’re asked they’re just going to shrug their shoulders and say “we don’t know”?

You bring up a good point so will tell them to say that we are exploring options such as private health insurance. like USC4SPOUSE mentioned above 

we have a extremely strong I864 - Id be surprised if being a public charge will be a issue by the CO

 

 

[pm5k 129]

1 hour ago, Lazybones18 said:

I haven't looked into ACA much but it seems like its part of Medicaid expansion ? if that's the case should we stay away from it as we will be subsidized using federal funds - could cause problem with immigration / i864 violation ?

my buddy who lives in San Diego got health insurance from Tijuana for his family. Its a company called Simnsa. its very fairly priced and for all emergencies if you utilize USA healthcare they will pay for it. However, check-ups, surgeries, treatements etc you have to go to the other side. He said they have start of the art providers and facilities. only works if they are close to the border though. 

 

 

 

If you follow the steps in the post by @ProbeGT, it will not be Medicaid.  It will just be subsidized ACA healthcare, which does not constitute being a public charge.

[pm5k 129]

Another key factor - it is critical that your parents be INDEPENDENT for tax purposes. 

[Lazybones18 261]

Just now, pm5k said:

Another key factor - it is critical that your parents be INDEPENDENT for tax purposes. 

yes we not planning to claim them as dependents. 

 

can you link me the post from probeGT. i cant find it 

[pm5k 129]

1 minute ago, Lazybones18 said:

 

 

can you link me the post from probeGT. i cant find it 

I posted in one of my earlier comments:

 

  

7 hours ago, pm5k said:

You can purchase insurance via the exchange

 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

1 hour ago, Lazybones18 said:

I haven't looked into ACA much but it seems like its part of Medicaid expansion ?

No. Medicaid expansion is part of ACA. ACA is not part of Medicaid expansion. ACA is private insurance unless you qualify for Medicaid.

 

If you don't have Medicare, Medicaid, or employer health insurance, then your only option besides paying out of pocket is ACA. The pre-ACA private plans are no more.

 

Thus you need to start looking at ACA.

 

ACA subsidizes premiums based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). The statements that the money that would be gifted by your parents' children to your parents would affect the ACA premium are, AFAIK, not correct. That's because gifts of cash each month are taxable income to the recipients. 

 

Since your parents would have little income other than perhaps their investments, it is probable their ACA plan's premiums would be heavily subsidized.

 

I suggest you start exploring coveredca dot com. @pm5k has given you a good link.

 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Mike E