northusa44

Here's an article that gets at the heart of what I think is right here. Scroll down and read the section "What are the immigration-related eligibility requirements for premium tax credits and cost sharing reductions in the ACA marketplaces? " Health Insurance Affordability Programs’ Eligibility Based on Immigration Status - Beyond the Basics Am I correct that this article is basically saying that any green card holder under 100% FPL and who is not yet eligible for Medicaid is qualified for the premium tax credits? This is what the Obamacare representative who gave my in-law the tax credits seems to have been going off of. Again, further guidance from those who understand this more than I do would be appreciated. I am still unsure if we need to pay a penalty for the tax credits or not (again, my in-law's income is under 100% of the FPL and they are not eligible for Medicaid based both on our state and the fact they have not fulfilled the five year waiting period). My understanding is that they should not be paying a penalty, but I am nervous about filing without the penalty without more guidance.

Thanks! But I think, though I'm not certain, that what you wrote is wrong in our case. I am aware of the 100% poverty level rule. But read through this thread, in which many have gotten Obamacare for 65+seniors with 0 or little income. I've been reading elsewhere online, and from what I can tell, and as with the above cases for 65+, if one is ineligible for Medicaid, they are eligible for Obamacare (there is a long debate in that thread about whether one can choose not to be a dependent if earning under the dependent maximum; this debate does not apply to my in-law since they are in the coverage gap between that dependent maximum and 100% FPL. We called Obamacare and faithfully reported expected income, etc. The reported income was no more than an expected $3000 for the year. We also told them our state. And Obamacare then gave us a near 0 dollar premium quote. There are two possibilities. Either that Obamacare rep was wrong, or the law actually allows Obamacare for those under 100% FPL if they are ineligible for Medicaid (which my in-law is, since we are in a state that has expanded). Again, would love more input (and Tesco, do write back if you've got more info--like I said, I'm not 100% sure on this, thus the query.)

*I think the critical thing here is whether I am right about ACA subsidies being available to immigrants who are under the usual minimum (~15,000) in income in states that have not expanded Medicaid. I've seen references in several places to this, but I have not been able to find this put explicitly. What I am seeing is that Obamacare is basically available to any immigrant who is not eligible for Medicaid (and therefore, in my state that has not expanded Medicaid, this would include those earning under ~15,000). If anyone has more info on this, I would appreciate it!

Before filing taxes for my green card-holder in-law, I just want to double-check that we are OK with what happened last year in terms of Obamacare. My in-law was on Obamacare (with subsidies) for a few months in 2024. At the time, they did not have work, so I believe we estimated their income on the low end (I honestly can't remember if we estimated 0 or a few thousand; whatever it was, we made an honest attempt). Then, in early fall, they were hired full-time. They wound up coming off of Obamacare and onto their employer's plan for the last few months of the year. By the end of the year, they had made more than the dependent maximum (something like $5200 for 2025; i.e. even if we wanted to we cannot claim them as a dependent for tax purposes) but less than the Obamacare minimum of ~$15,000. Without getting into specifics, let's just say they made~10,000 for 2024. We live in a state that has not expanded Medicaid. My understanding is that we are thus OK in terms of taxes because Obamacare is available even if income is under the Obamacare minimum when Medicaid is not available (with the exception that we might be asked to refund the difference between the subsidy we received vs. the estimated income we gave), but I want to see if anyone knows more about this and can either confirm or give more info (or tell me that I am wrong about the Obamacare minimum not applying when Medicaid is not available fit). I.e. if you think that we need to call healthcare.gov to report all of this, do let me know/state why. Secondarily, and with all the stuff going on with immigrants in the US, do also write if there have been any new administration changes to immigrants and Obamacare that would be relevant to this. Thank you!

Most reasonable observers would conclude that there is little risk to the US public from someone who has finished the six-month course of TB treatment and has the negative tests (and multiple trips to the US panel physician) to show it. This is why they want to wait until after the six months treatment is finished to try the waiver. I continue to think that such a waiver would have a chance of approval, as separation from a spouse (plus all of the financial loss they are dealing with due to uncertainty) certainly is an unusual and trying circumstance (I would push back on calling this separation an 'inconvenience'). But it looks like the timing may not work out given how long the waiver process is. In any event, I greatly appreciate the time that you and others have taken to respond to this thread. The info on timing is especially useful and appreciated. If they do file the waiver, I will try to provide an update about how it turned out. But they may not given the timing.

This is in regards to the family acquaintance I wrote about last time. To provide a bit more background, both he and his wife were supposed to come to the US on green cards (sponsored by a family member). Beginning with the pre-interview medical exam in China, he was eventually found to have active TB (after the initial tests, he had to wait two months for the sputum results, which showed active TB). His wife was negative for TB and was able to come and is now here, living with other family (she followed up with a doctor here regarding TB, just in case). He is now a couple months in to a 6 month TB treatment course, under supervision by an embassy-approved doctor. Since he is not in the same city as that doctor, he cannot do DOT (daily observed treatment), and thus needs to wait one year after completion of the six months treatment for the interview to be rescheduled. They are planning to file a I-601 waiver of inadmissibility application, with the argument being that the separation of spouses makes this an extraordinary circumstance that is resulting in undue psychological and financial stress for each due to both the separation and the fact that neither can plan for the future. Before they file, I just want to confirm that the only possible downside to a denial of the waiver is that they have to wait the full year? In other words, and so long as they are honest in the waiver application (which they will be), USCIS/the embassy would not cancel the whole green card application due to denial of the waiver, correct? They realize the waiver is a very uncertain thing, but it is still worth it for them to try so long as the worst-case scenario is just doing the wait that they would have to do anyways. The separation and uncertainty really is very difficult for all involved; we have also contacted the local public health department, and they have expressed that they would be fine with him coming, especially once his treatment is complete and he has negative test results to show it (and his test results are already negative). Thank you! (also, if anyone knows timing for responses to the waivers, that would be great--if these waivers have a three-year wait to be reviewed, it obviously would not make sense to apply)

Just giving this a bump--would love to hear from one or two more with experience, just to confirm the good advice given above.

Thank you! Will be curious to see if others have had the same experience?

Asking for a friend: . We know someone who is applying for a green card (consulate processing, China) but unfortunately was found to have tuberculosis. They do not live in a city with DOT (Directly Observed Therapy) available and the panel physician said they need to go the 6 months of testing + 1 year of waiting route before rescheduling. The panel physician for the consulate has been in pretty close contact. Our friend is now about a month plus into treatment at a local hispitral and the panel physician wants them to come to his city to do sputum testing. This will require a 3.5 hour flight. The panel physician said they will have to do this at least twice. I'm pretty sure that the panel physician is following the guidelines in the Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians (Tuberculosis Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians | CDC). The two relevant sections (scroll down or ctl + f search) are "Tuberculosis Treatment and Monitoring" and "Tuberculosis Treatment Monitoring" (the latter is also linked to "Sputum Collection") .The former section specifies rules for DOT and non-DOT treatment. Again, my friend is doing the non-DOT treatment since there is no panel physician anywhere close to their city My query is whether the panel physician is correct in still asking them to make this very inconvenient/expensive trip to go in-person to the panel physician for sputum testing? We are pretty confused as to why they need to do this if they are doing the non-DOT route. In other words, why can't they do the sputum testing with the treating physician at their treating hospital? (With that said, the above document itself does not seem to clearly state in the latter section whether the sputum testing is DOT/non-DOT and whether it is supposed to be done with the panel physician or not) If anyone has any experience with this we would very much appreciate thoughts. We don't want to inconvenience/upset the panel physician with queries about this unless it is clear that they are incorrectly interpreting the document. (mods: I would very much appreciate not putting this in 'China'--this is such a niche question that I would like to know experiences for people from around the world for)

Just want to give this a boost--can anyone else confirm that legal residents are eligible for Obama Care AND the subsidies that are offered with the plans?

To confirm, this is true of the subsidies as well? For some reason I was under the impression that we might have to full pay ObamaCare. If not, we are very happy people! (I think we have a track to a job with benefits including healthcare for her, so Obamacare will likely be a fairly short-term thing for her)

Right, I don't think she does. They told her they could start as is but would need to send a picture of the green card by May. But I agree even this may not be needed.

I spoke to healthcare.gov recently about my MIL (new permanent resident). We went through their enrollment procedures and at the end were told that she qualifies for subsidized coverage, with some of the offered plans at a 0 dollar premium. I answered everything asked as truthfully as possible and was frankly shocked at how good of a deal this is. First of all, does this seem right? I did just find a very long, older thread on here in which some reported very low subsidized plans as well, so perhaps new green card holders really are eligible for the subsidies via tax credit? I just want to make sure that they did not somehow misunderstand our situation in a way that will cause headaches for us down the road. Secondly, they stated that her coverage could start soon but that we would need to show the green card to them by mid-spring. My understanding is that if all goes well we should get the green card in the mail by then--does anyone have any experience to report on recent green card times?

Perfect, thanks! We have heard of this as well and will certainly consider it. Anyone have any others? Again, just shopping around for a short-term insurance plan that covers unexpected illness/accident.

My MIL just arrived here with her IR-5 immigrant visa (thanks to all who helped with this!). We are trying to find a short-term health insurance plan to cover any unexpected accidents or illnesses while we work on getting either healthcare.gov or employer (I think my employer may hire her) insurance. I seem to recall seeing companies offering short-term insurance for green card holders 1-2 years ago (some of them said the plans were a maximum of 6 months if I recall correctly), but I haven't been able to find any available plans while searching today. Can anyone point me to one of these short-term bridge companies that will give insurance to green card holders? We just want a plan that will cover a car accident, sudden and unexpected illness, etc. (We called IMG about the Patriot plans but were told these are only for visitors planning to return home. I'm still not 100% sure the call agent had this right, so I may call back and try again tomorrow with them. But additional options would be very much appreciated.) Thank you in advance!