Health Insurance before arriving to USA on CR1 visa

[Andy&Dom 0]

Hi all. My wife will be arriving in the United States in September from Germany on a CR1 visa. It is very important for us that there is no lap in health insurance coverage from when we leave germany to arriving in the United States. Our ultimate goal is to buy health insurance from the marketplace or have insurance from our future employers, however, from my understanding, it will not be possible to apply for marketplace insurance for her as she isn't a permanent resident until her approved arrival into the USA on the CR1. What do you recommend and has any else had experience with this? We have thought about getting a short term travel insurance for a few weeks before we can apply for marketplace coverage, but I can only see that these are for tourists visiting the USA. Any advice? Thanks for all the help:)

[Lil bear 4,217]

9 minutes ago, Andy&Dom said:

Hi all. My wife will be arriving in the United States in September from Germany on a CR1 visa. It is very important for us that there is no lap in health insurance coverage from when we leave germany to arriving in the United States. Our ultimate goal is to buy health insurance from the marketplace or have insurance from our future employers, however, from my understanding, it will not be possible to apply for marketplace insurance for her as she isn't a permanent resident until her approved arrival into the USA on the CR1. What do you recommend and has any else had experience with this? We have thought about getting a short term travel insurance for a few weeks before we can apply for marketplace coverage, but I can only see that these are for tourists visiting the USA. Any advice? Thanks for all the help:)

You can buy short term resident insurance but it is very limited cover .. doesn't cover routine dr appts, medications or preexisting conditions. You can research  Marketplace now and call the day you arrive to sign up. Be aware though, that unlike some countries where you sign up and it is active immediately, there is often a delay .. ours was active the following 1st of the month after signing up. Look into if you can sign yourself up prior to arriving and then adding your spouse the day you arrive as a change in residency stats for her triggers a special sign up period   Look for ACA navigator contact into in the state where you are going to reside. We hound them helpful and knowledgable .  

[Andy&Dom 0]

18 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

You can buy short term resident insurance but it is very limited cover .. doesn't cover routine dr appts, medications or preexisting conditions. You can research  Marketplace now and call the day you arrive to sign up. Be aware though, that unlike some countries where you sign up and it is active immediately, there is often a delay .. ours was active the following 1st of the month after signing up. Look into if you can sign yourself up prior to arriving and then adding your spouse the day you arrive as a change in residency stats for her triggers a special sign up period   Look for ACA navigator contact into in the state where you are going to reside. We hound them helpful and knowledgable .  

We will look into the short term coverage! Thank you for the information, it was very helpful.

[EmilyW 1,437]

We got temporary insurance until we found work.  Here's a link to get you started:  Inbound Immigrant Insurance for new USA Immigrants, Green Card Holders (ivisitorinsurance.com)

[powerpuff 6,702]

~~ Topic moved from Bringing Family members of US citizens to Moving to the US and Your New Life in America where health insurance questions are discussed ~~

[little immigrant 801]

I have a chronic illness and was without coverage for a few months. I brought medication worth of 3 months. I had to suck it up.