Health Insurance Question

[abaa 21]

My fiance is arriving next week on a K-1 visa. I have been trying to purchase health insurance for her. I am self employed and use the VA for my medical needs, so I don't have a policy I can add her to. This last week, I have contacted several health insurance companies to get quotes and see if I can purchase a policy for my fiance. All companies have turned me down. They have stated that they can only do policies for citizens or permanent residents. They have all referred me to the government exchange for more information. I am not trying to purchase anything through an exchange, I would simply like to purchase a private health care plan, but it seems all the companies I have interacted with only go through the exchange. The agents I spoke with also stated thye wouldn't be able to sell insurance even if she were a citizen because of the enrollment period. They stated to qualify for an exception, she must already have valid insurance. Given the length of time until a green card would be received, I think there must be a better option. I have not been able to find anything that would forbid someone arriving on a K-1 visa from buying health insurance from the searches I have done. Is there anyone who can provide anymore information on this topic? I'm sure we're not the first people in this situation and there must be some company or health plan for those in our situation.

[Ontarkie 14,221]

~~Moved to Moving Here and Your New Life, from K1 P&P - as the topic is about health insurance~~

[Mike E 11,739]

You buy a fiancée travel insurance policy that will provide catastrophic and medical evacuation back to her country.  Then get married as fast as possible. Then add her to your VA policy 

[abaa 21]

2 minutes ago, Mike E said:

You buy a fiancée travel insurance policy that will provide catastrophic and medical evacuation back to her country.  Then get married as fast as possible. Then add her to your VA policy 

I receive medical care through the Veteran's Administration, so I don't have a health insurance policy. They wouldn't cover a spouse unless she was a veteran as well. Thank you for the suggestion though.

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, abaa said:

I receive medical care through the Veteran's Administration, so I don't have a health insurance policy. They wouldn't cover a spouse unless she was a veteran as well. Thank you for the suggestion though.

Once she is in the USA and I -485 pending per https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/immigration-status/ she can enroll in ACA.  

[abaa 21]

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

Once she is in the USA and I -485 pending per https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/immigration-status/ she can enroll in ACA.  

Thank you, I see it says "Lawful Temporary Resident" may apply, so perhaps she can apply as soon as she arrives. I'm not sure what qualifies as a "Lawful Temporary Resident" though. If a subsidy is received, could that impact the Adjustment of Status process? I wanted to just purchase insurance outright to avoid her showing as receiving government assistance.

[Mike E 11,739]

1 hour ago, abaa said:

Thank you, I see it says "Lawful Temporary Resident" may apply, so perhaps she can apply as soon as she arrives. I'm not sure what qualifies as a "Lawful Temporary Resident" though. If a subsidy is received, could that impact the Adjustment of Status process? I wanted to just purchase insurance outright to avoid her showing as receiving government assistance.

Keep reading the link I gave you:

 

”

Applicants for any of these statuses qualify to use the Marketplace:

• Temporary Protected Status with Employment Authorization
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
• Victim of Trafficking Visa
• Adjustment to LPR Status”

 

And no, ACA subsidy is not public charge 

Edited September 2, 2022 by Mike E

[Palawan 131]

If she is fairly healthy you can just self pay if you need any medical needs, usually you can get cheaper rates for self pay vs having insurance.

 

What marketplace offers with insurance thru them is it will cover pre existing, Which may be the only good thing about marketplace.  If you can find insurance outside of marketplace they usually don't cover pre existing conditions.

 

If you do get market place insurance stay away from ghetto insurance like Molina or Ambetter, get like Cigna or BCBS or a more well known main stream insurance.

 

Bad deal with Obama care, they took away most private policy and you will pay out the nose for insurance, but they do cover pre existing. 

 

 

[abaa 21]

8 hours ago, Mike E said:

Keep reading the link I gave you:

 

”

Applicants for any of these statuses qualify to use the Marketplace:

• Temporary Protected Status with Employment Authorization
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
• Victim of Trafficking Visa
• Adjustment to LPR Status”

 

And no, ACA subsidy is not public charge 

Thank you for clarifying that for me. Is there anywhere on a government website it explicitly says ACA subsidies are not public charges?

[abaa 21]

1 hour ago, Palawan said:

If she is fairly healthy you can just self pay if you need any medical needs, usually you can get cheaper rates for self pay vs having insurance.

 

I would be willing to be for routine medical care, but even one trip to an emergency room can be extremely expensive. Any long term illness would also be very expensive, which is why I wanted to get a plan.

[Bob in Boston 701]

12 hours ago, abaa said:

My fiance is arriving next week on a K-1 visa. I have been trying to purchase health insurance for her. I am self employed and use the VA for my medical needs, so I don't have a policy I can add her to. This last week, I have contacted several health insurance companies to get quotes and see if I can purchase a policy for my fiance. All companies have turned me down. They have stated that they can only do policies for citizens or permanent residents. They have all referred me to the government exchange for more information. I am not trying to purchase anything through an exchange, I would simply like to purchase a private health care plan, but it seems all the companies I have interacted with only go through the exchange. The agents I spoke with also stated thye wouldn't be able to sell insurance even if she were a citizen because of the enrollment period. They stated to qualify for an exception, she must already have valid insurance. Given the length of time until a green card would be received, I think there must be a better option. I have not been able to find anything that would forbid someone arriving on a K-1 visa from buying health insurance from the searches I have done. Is there anyone who can provide anymore information on this topic? I'm sure we're not the first people in this situation and there must be some company or health plan for those in our situation.

Will be a lot easier if you can manage to get her a SSN before she adjusts status. Not needed for insurance but from what I have read on here it would make it easier.

[abaa 21]

1 minute ago, Bob in Boston said:

Will be a lot easier if you can manage to get her a SSN before she adjusts status. Not needed for insurance but from what I have read on here it would make it easier.

I appreciate the tip. I've been planning to do that before we get married based on the advice in the forums here. I will just wait until the I-94 is available online.

[Palawan 131]

13 minutes ago, abaa said:

 

I would be willing to be for routine medical care, but even one trip to an emergency room can be extremely expensive. Any long term illness would also be very expensive, which is why I wanted to get a plan.

Understand

 

You probably gonna be best to get her on the MarketPlace plan once she gets her and gets her greencard.

 

Good thing if does have to go the hospital or emergency during her time before getting a greencard, you can usually get the hospital to waive the bill since she isn't legal to work in the USA.  You just need to call them and work this out, Just a FYI.

[abaa 21]

2 minutes ago, Palawan said:

Understand

 

You probably gonna be best to get her on the MarketPlace plan once she gets her and gets her greencard.

 

Good thing if does have to go the hospital or emergency during her time before getting a greencard, you can usually get the hospital to waive the bill since she isn't legal to work in the USA.  You just need to call them and work this out, Just a FYI.

Thank you for the info. Maybe I can find a short term plan that just covers big events until we can get a more traditional plan.

[Chancy 6,241]

11 hours ago, abaa said:

Is there anywhere on a government website it explicitly says ACA subsidies are not public charges?

 

From https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/ -- Applying for or receiving Medicaid or CHIP benefits, or getting savings for health insurance costs in the Marketplace, doesn't make someone a "public charge".

 

Check this thread for more info on the process of getting ACA insurance --