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DV 2015 KENYA SELECTEES FORUM

shorrie said:
@Britsimon forgive for going on and on about this health plan issu. But i found this:
3. New immigrant / very recently got the green card:
If you have recently got the green card, and will be in coming to the USA soon, you can consider a short-term heatlh insurance for immigrants plan that provides temporary coverage while you travel and settle down in the US. Some of the choices include: Inbound Immigrant, Liaison Majestic, Patriot America etc. To get quotes for temporary short term insurance visit immigrants insurance.

My challenge is that the ACA needs you to put an income and since as a new immigrant you have none and cannot claim medicare is it it wise to get the temp covers? Just asking
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It's not really a surprise that a company selling insurance is suggesting getting health insurance. :D

Anyway, I thought I had answered that earlier. The answer is you can do that (get temp cover) if you wish - there is no harm in it. The quotes you showed ealier though were for about 7 or 8 months of cover - you really don't want to not be on normal insurance that long.
 
shorrie said:
@Britsimon forgive for going on and on about this health plan issu. But i found this:
3. New immigrant / very recently got the green card:
If you have recently got the green card, and will be in coming to the USA soon, you can consider a short-term heatlh insurance for immigrants plan that provides temporary coverage while you travel and settle down in the US. Some of the choices include: Inbound Immigrant, Liaison Majestic, Patriot America etc. To get quotes for temporary short term insurance visit immigrants insurance.

My challenge is that the ACA needs you to put an income and since as a new immigrant you have none and cannot claim medicare is it it wise to get the temp covers? Just asking
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Well, when they say "while you travel and settle down in the U.S." precisely what is meant by "settle down" - 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year? See, the trouble is there's no definition or indication of what 'settle down' means. While it may take one immigrant about 1 week to 1 month to settle, it could take another 6 months to settle.

The reason I'm going to this length is to give you an idea of the wiggle room the sellers of the plans you're referencing have given themselves. Those plans are geared towards tourists, if you buy that plan and God forbid you need to put in a claim say about 3 months after landing, they will be within their rights to deny the claim by telling you you're a LPR not a tourist visiting the U.S. on a temporary basis. Plus like Simon already pointed out earlier, people with such coverage still have to pay medical providers directly for services rendered, you then have to file a claim with the insurance carrier and this is when thy get to say sorry your claim has been denied because you're a LPR not a tourist. So if at all you want to consider such a plan, it really shouldn't be for more than 1 month IMO, and there's still no guarantee they will pay up if a claim is ever made.
 
Sm1smom said:
Well, when they say "while you travel and settle down in the U.S." precisely what is meant by "settle down" - 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year? See, the trouble is there's no definition or indication of what 'settle down' means. While it may take one immigrant about 1 week to 1 month to settle, it could take another 6 months to settle.

The reason I'm going to this length is to give you an idea of the wiggle room the sellers of the plans you're referencing have given themselves. Those plans are geared towards tourists, if you buy that plan and God forbid you need to put in a claim say about 3 months after landing, they will be within their rights to deny the claim by telling you you're a LPR not a tourist visiting the U.S. on a temporary basis. Plus like Simon already pointed out earlier, people with such coverage still have to pay medical providers directly for services rendered, you then have to file a claim with the insurance carrier and this is when thy get to say sorry your claim has been denied because you're a LPR not a tourist. So if at all you want to consider such a plan, it really shouldn't be for more than 1 month IMO, and there's still no guarantee they will pay up if a claim is ever made.
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Very true. Also one common get out clause for these sort of plans is "pre-existing" conditions. So let's say you have a problem which is a blow up of a condition you already had, their plans are limited to something like the first $1000 - (which is as good as nothing in a country where healthcare bills can be ENORMOUS).

So anyway - tak the temporary cover if you like but get on ACA as soon as possible - because your exposure will be a few thousand dollars rather than getting 6 figure bills.
 
One thing I seem to be battling to find info on is the grace period between arriving and by when you need to be on an ACA approved scheme.
 
shorrie said:
@Britsimon forgive for going on and on about this health plan issu. But i found this:
3. New immigrant / very recently got the green card:
If you have recently got the green card, and will be in coming to the USA soon, you can consider a short-term heatlh insurance for immigrants plan that provides temporary coverage while you travel and settle down in the US. Some of the choices include: Inbound Immigrant, Liaison Majestic, Patriot America etc. To get quotes for temporary short term insurance visit immigrants insurance.

My challenge is that the ACA needs you to put an income and since as a new immigrant you have none and cannot claim medicare is it it wise to get the temp covers? Just asking
Click to expand...

FYI, your credit card gives you travel insurance for the first 90 days of travel. This covers any medical eventuality. Your local medical cover is good for the same 90 days when you travel. Before travel, call your card company/ email them to confirm. I have medical cover on my Barclaycard (Gold) and am also covered by AAR so I wouldn't need to pay for another cover. I paid 30,000 kshs (appx $350) for a family of 3 for an year's cover up to $5000 per person.
 
usamommy2015 said:
FYI, your credit card gives you travel insurance for the first 90 days of travel. This covers any medical eventuality. Your local medical cover is good for the same 90 days when you travel. Before travel, call your card company/ email them to confirm. I have medical cover on my Barclaycard (Gold) and am also covered by AAR so I wouldn't need to pay for another cover. I paid 30,000 kshs (appx $350) for a family of 3 for an year's cover up to $5000 per person.
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Be careful about that.
1. Not all credit cards have that type of cover.
2. The cover from credit cards has various conditions - which will be applied in creative ways to avoid a liability.
3. The amounts we are talking about will normally be outside the limits of coverage of travel insurance. For instance my neighbor had a relatively simple heart related issue while travelling in the USA (I think he required a few days in hospital). The bills that came through were over $200,000. On a vacation in the USA a few years ago my daughter had a mild ear infection that need Amoxycillin. I knew exactly the problem and knew the medicine we needed. The bill to see a doctor and get the prescription was about $1000.

So - having travel insurance is better than not having it - but don't expect it will be a realistic option if you actually have a medical problem.
 
usamommy2015 said:
FYI, your credit card gives you travel insurance for the first 90 days of travel. This covers any medical eventuality. Your local medical cover is good for the same 90 days when you travel. Before travel, call your card company/ email them to confirm. I have medical cover on my Barclaycard (Gold) and am also covered by AAR so I wouldn't need to pay for another cover. I paid 30,000 kshs (appx $350) for a family of 3 for an year's cover up to $5000 per person.
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The $5K coverage is peanut, God forbid, should you have a medical emergency in the US. You want to consider getting an ACA coverage ASAP! Again such a coverage will require you to pay upfront whatever is being charged and to submit a claim for reimbursement to your card provider - service providers do not recognize all those insurance coverage which means they have no negotiated price in place and that enables them to slam their highest price tag for services provided. So if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't count on that and think I have a decent coverage in place.
 
Sm1smom said:
The $5K coverage is peanut, God forbid, should you have a medical emergency in the US. You want to consider getting an ACA coverage ASAP! Again such a coverage will require you to pay upfront whatever is being charged and to submit a claim for reimbursement to your card provider - service providers do not recognize all those insurance coverage which means they have no negotiated price in place and that enables them to slam their highest price tag for services provided. So if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't count on that and think I have a decent coverage in place.
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Thanks for this clarification.
 
In your
Britsimon said:
Be careful about that.
1. Not all credit cards have that type of cover.
2. The cover from credit cards has various conditions - which will be applied in creative ways to avoid a liability.
3. The amounts we are talking about will normally be outside the limits of coverage of travel insurance. For instance my neighbor had a relatively simple heart related issue while travelling in the USA (I think he required a few days in hospital). The bills that came through were over $200,000. On a vacation in the USA a few years ago my daughter had a mild ear infection that need Amoxycillin. I knew exactly the problem and knew the medicine we needed. The bill to see a doctor and get the prescription was about $1000.

So - having travel insurance is better than not having it - but don't expect it will be a realistic option if you actually have a medical problem.
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@Britsimon In your stated case concerning your daughter, why couldn't you just walk to a dispensing chemist and purchase the Amoxycillin? Back here we easily do this even without a doctors prescription or is it illegal in States?

The $200000 bill for a simple heart issue is quite scary though. America!
 
coronahope said:
In your


@Britsimon In your stated case concerning your daughter, why couldn't you just walk to a dispensing chemist and purchase the Amoxycillin? Back here we easily do this even without a doctors prescription or is it illegal in States?

The $200000 bill for a simple heart issue is quite scary though. America!
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Yes you need a prescription here in the USA to obtain antibiotics.
 
Britsimon said:
Be careful about that.
1. Not all credit cards have that type of cover.
2. The cover from credit cards has various conditions - which will be applied in creative ways to avoid a liability.
3. The amounts we are talking about will normally be outside the limits of coverage of travel insurance. For instance my neighbor had a relatively simple heart related issue while travelling in the USA (I think he required a few days in hospital). The bills that came through were over $200,000. On a vacation in the USA a few years ago my daughter had a mild ear infection that need Amoxycillin. I knew exactly the problem and knew the medicine we needed. The bill to see a doctor and get the prescription was about $1000.

So - having travel insurance is better than not having it - but don't expect it will be a realistic option if you actually have a medical problem.
Click to expand...

I just said it as a good to know. It buys you time as you compare package. Also, it is important to get your flu shot if you are going before, around or during any season except summer and get it annually. When I studied in Canada, i had the worst toothpaste but my health plan didnt cover dental. I think they quoted around $10,000. I just waited to come home for the holidays and get ot done here. On the plus side I lost a lot of weight because candies, chewy foods cold foods and hot foods were out of question. My insurance did however cover my little bout of pink eye and hay fever.
 
usamommy2015 said:
I just said it as a good to know. It buys you time as you compare package. Also, it is important to get your flu shot if you are going before, around or during any season except summer and get it annually. When I studied in Canada, i had the worst toothpaste but my health plan didnt cover dental. I think they quoted around $10,000. I just waited to come home for the holidays and get ot done here. On the plus side I lost a lot of weight because candies, chewy foods cold foods and hot foods were out of question. My insurance did however cover my little bout of pink eye and hay fever.
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I'm guessing toothpaste didn't cost $10k - toothache probably! :rolleyes:

For minor things then travel insurance is fine, but the problem is you never know when you might have an accident and even a simple fracture from slipping and falling can cost $10k. Or get in a car accident and you can look forward to some very large bills when you have recovered - that will destroy your settling plans. That is the risk.
 
Britsimon said:
I'm guessing toothpaste didn't cost $10k - toothache probably! :rolleyes:

For minor things then travel insurance is fine, but the problem is you never know when you might have an accident and even a simple fracture from slipping and falling can cost $10k. Or get in a car accident and you can look forward to some very large bills when you have recovered - that will destroy your settling plans. That is the risk.
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True, but I still dont think paying $1000 for 3 months is worth it. Btw, maybe you know why, Canadians kept telling me I was lucky if I slipped and fell infront of a house where snow was not shovelled. I was told I could sue. Why is such a trivial issue so highly regarded in those countries. I also loved how people threatened to sue at every sneeze. I didnt bother to test the system because I was there to study.

About toothpaste, that was totally autocorrects fault. We dont get along much.
 
usamommy2015 said:
True, but I still dont think paying $1000 for 3 months is worth it. Btw, maybe you know why, Canadians kept telling me I was lucky if I slipped and fell infront of a house where snow was not shovelled. I was told I could sue. Why is such a trivial issue so highly regarded in those countries. I also loved how people threatened to sue at every sneeze. I didnt bother to test the system because I was there to study.

About toothpaste, that was totally autocorrects fault. We dont get along much.
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The suing thing is one of the reasons that healthcare providers give as the reason their charges are so crazy high. They are scared of being sued for making a mistake so they have very expensive insurance policies and they pass the cost on to you and I. No one seems to take personal responsibility anymore - everyone blames something or someone else.
 
usamommy2015 said:
FYI, your credit card gives you travel insurance for the first 90 days of travel. This covers any medical eventuality. Your local medical cover is good for the same 90 days when you travel. Before travel, call your card company/ email them to confirm. I have medical cover on my Barclaycard (Gold) and am also covered by AAR so I wouldn't need to pay for another cover. I paid 30,000 kshs (appx $350) for a family of 3 for an year's cover up to $5000 per person.
Click to expand...

I paid $1200 for a few hours in ER. $5000 a year is not going to get you very far in the US.
 
coronahope said:
This health insurance issue appears to me like the only major failure of the first world the US is. A third world country like Kenya seems to have more affordable health plans across the wealth classes. Majority of our citizens if willing can afford the universal health cover under NHIF.
Having said this, its upon the immigrants to prepare themselves for adequate health cover in the US. I believe the other benefits of relocating to States far outweigh the seemingly terrible health plans they have.
I have today read through @Britsimon links on available health plans and must admit that health services appear extremely costly in the States especially for those not covered through the employer. we must at the onset bear this in mind get prepared. To be forewarned (informed) is to be forearmed.
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Many People living in America becomebmedical tourists as need dictates. that you could easily confirm.
 
Thank you all for your two cents on this health plan issue. An eye opener it has been and helps one plan well...
 
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