Health Insurance

[alex330]

My fiance loves to go to the doctor. I think it may be one of Ukraines lesser known national pastimes. Here we go when we are dying, probably not as often as we should...

How have you married guys handled health insurance for your recently arrived wives and fiances? It seems it varies by state? I live in Florida so any members that live in the state may have more specifics relating to my circumstances.

Seems you need to be a citizen or at least resident to even qualify. Did you get visitors health insurance for the first year then switch over? What are our best options? Thanks

[BC]

Thank goodness was not an issue here in EU as my wife was covered from the day she entered.. -  and yes, it does seem to be an issue at first 'sniffle'.  Luckily Doc's here still do house calls if fevers or acute symptoms are involved...

Might want to check into travel insurance plans - fairly cheap in most FSU countries.  Will usually cover the first 90 days or so.

For the rest, google..  "immigration and health insurance"  with 62 million hits or so should be something available.  Checking a few looks like a couple hundred a month for a decent plan with a fairly high deductible.  Most seem to be valid for the first year only.

Of course she can always call her regular doctor in FSU..  Maybe bring  / mail some of her regular 'meds'.. don't know how picky US customs is with that though.  Check out local homeopathic stores.

One plus is that in the US there are a huge amount of over the counter drugs available, CVS, Walgreens, even Walmart.. we stock up every time we visit the US and spend quite a bit of time in the pharmacy aisles.. LOL

[alex330]

I have spoken to several local agents and surprisingly they are not very well informed on the matter. Seems most new arrivals are illegal and/or do not carry health insurance.

I was told about the travellers insurance for 6 months and then switching it over once she has her green card but was wondering if any members had other experiences on the matter. Thanks

[BC]

Fortunately no direct experience...

but one of the 62 million was http://www.immigrationhealth.com/plans.htm

[ML]

Again, check out the options for student insurance for those attending university.

Aetna is one of the main carriers of such insurance.  One hundred dollars a month  gets a pretty good plan with an upper limit of $250,000 total pay out possible.

The cost is lower than most other forms because of the 'sample group.'  i.e. mostly college aged persons with less health problems than the general population.

[Faux Pas]

I have spoken to several local agents and surprisingly they are not very well informed on the matter. Seems most new arrivals are illegal and/or do not carry health insurance.

I was told about the travellers insurance for 6 months and then switching it over once she has her green card but was wondering if any members had other experiences on the matter. Thanks

It will depend largely on your insurance company. If you are in an HMO or PPO you likely have an open enrollment date. Likely, you'll have to be married when that open enrollment date rolls around.


Unfortunately for me when my now wife arrived, we just missed my open enrollment date for the year and I had to buy a separate policy for 11 months to have her covered. IIRC it was a little over two hundred a month and covered hospitalization and catastrophic up to $500,000. It was "very limited" and didn't cover doctor visits

[ECOCKS]

My wife picked up insurance from BC for $172/month. No problems, just a questionnaire and pay the tariff.......

[Chicagoguy]

I don't know who BC is that ECOCKS is referring to but that is cheap.
I couldn't add my wife onto any policy I had so I tried the open market. The more you need the more it costs. Surprise !   
I thought about catastrophic insurance only as being my best option [ My late wife had died after a 1 year illness with a bill no one could pay ] but once my wife deduced what we were saying she said that she would just go home to Russia if necessary. And so she did. For a Thyroid problem with hospitalization and dental work [ not the best but OK ].
Since then I have found that most doctors and hospitals near me charge 50% less with a check or charge card.
 

[ECOCKS]

BC = Blue Cross

[ML]

Since then I have found that most doctors and hospitals near me charge 50% less with a check or charge card.

So how does this work in practice?
The doctors and hospitals will total up your bill and print it long before they know anything about how you are going to pay.

I have heard about some bill discounting . . . after the bill is long overdue, some poverty is displayed, etc., but otherwise such discounting seems a fantasy.

[ECOCKS]

I've seen "discounts" as high as 65% based upon ability to pay.

[Sailor291]

Not sure what the issue is here.  If you get married, that is a qualifying event and trumps the open enrollment date.  Just sign her up for insurance.  Unless I am missing something here.

[GQBlues]

Not sure what the issue is here.  If you get married, that is a qualifying event and trumps the open enrollment date.  Just sign her up for insurance.  Unless I am missing something here.

I would have to agree with this...it's what we did. I got her a traveller's insurance for the 90-day period of her K-1, then I immediately signed her up with my employer's provision once we got married. When she went to a State Uni, they also offerred her health/dental insurance, which I got for her for no other reason than for convenience. They had clinics in-campus.
 
Now she's a full-time employee and her employer is providing one for her which is actually much better ($250.00 deductible vs $500) than what I have with my employer.

[BillyB]

So how does this work in practice?
The doctors and hospitals will total up your bill and print it long before they know anything about how you are going to pay.

I have heard about some bill discounting . . . after the bill is long overdue, some poverty is displayed, etc., but otherwise such discounting seems a fantasy.

You can get discounts on medical treatment if you pay on day of visit.
Medical treatment is available to all Americans and illegals although not everyone has insurance. Just go to the emergency room. By law hospitals must treat the person who walked in regardless if they can pay or not. The system gets abused but if there is universal health care for all there will be more abuse. Lots of people need their drugs.

[steveh1155]

It will depend largely on your insurance company. If you are in an HMO or PPO you likely have an open enrollment date. Likely, you'll have to be married when that open enrollment date rolls around.


Unfortunately for me when my now wife arrived, we just missed my open enrollment date for the year and I had to buy a separate policy for 11 months to have her covered. IIRC it was a little over two hundred a month and covered hospitalization and catastrophic up to $500,000. It was "very limited" and didn't cover doctor visits

I was kind of wondering about this myself - I have Blue Cross/Anthem with my employer & can make changes anytime there's a qualifying event (marriage, birth etc.), but I don't know if the fact that she won't be a US citizen would make her somehow ineligible for the group policy - guess I need to call them. Heck, I don't even know if my policy covers me in Ukraine - probably not.

[Jumper]

I was kind of wondering about this myself - I have Blue Cross/Anthem with my employer & can make changes anytime there's a qualifying event (marriage, birth etc.), but I don't know if the fact that she won't be a US citizen would make her somehow ineligible for the group policy - guess I need to call them. Heck, I don't even know if my policy covers me in Ukraine - probably not.

I have anthem/BC
 
There is no provision of citizenship ,and you should be able to add her to your group policy when married./elgible as a dependent.
 
 

[Chicagoguy]

BillyB is correct. It helps if you pay at time of service. But a few hospitals won't deal on this.
Just look at a hospital or Dr. bill from your insurance company some time. They get huge discounts. Greater than 50%. And they are not prompt payers ! So 50% with the money in hand is OK with most of them.
My medical carrier is MediCare so no adding her 

[Faux Pas]

I was kind of wondering about this myself - I have Blue Cross/Anthem with my employer & can make changes anytime there's a qualifying event (marriage, birth etc.), but I don't know if the fact that she won't be a US citizen would make her somehow ineligible for the group policy - guess I need to call them. Heck, I don't even know if my policy covers me in Ukraine - probably not.

It shouldn't matter. There was no such citizenship requirement and I have BC/BS. My policy also had a qualifying event provision. We were the victim of unfortunate circumstances and some laziness (mine) which is a very long story. In the end, I paid dearly from the end