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Dv-winner Health insurance?

P

Peter89A

New Member
Hello.

In 2 months me and my wife are finally moving to Austin, Texas.
So far, we won't have a job when we land, and we will rent an apartment a few days after we land.

We are unsure about the Health insurance before we get a job. Are we eligible to any special programs due to our move or our income?
We are very interested to hear what you people did and how did you do it? Any suggestions?

Kind Regards
Peter & Emelie
 
You can buy a private health insurance plan from your state's Obamacare marketplace. Even though it's not the Open Enrollment period right now, you qualify for a Special Enrollment period because you recently moved into the US.
 
Hi guys,

Firstly thanks for all the great help on the forum. My husband and I will be moving to Nashville, TN in a couple of months. We are the lucky winners of the Green Card Lottery. Similar to @Peter89A we wont have jobs when we land, and are struggling to find clear information on what Health Insurance is available to us, and at what cost. As we are from Australia we don't seem to qualify for any of the new immigrant insurance suggested on @Britsimon blog(which we now owe our green cards to, the genius blog he has created and we can't thank him enough) Has anyone had any experience coming from Australia and purchasing short term health insurance or would it be advised to contact a broker in the area? Thanks in advance.
 
We bought the new immigrant health insurance (granted this was back in 2016) without a problem. Being Australian wasn't an issue then, not sure if things had changed.

We kept that insurance until my employer's insurance kicked in.
 
Yes Im not sure why @SusieQQQ it does seem strange.
Thanks @EmilyW unfortunately we can't purchase the Liaison Plan(from Visiors Coverage on @Britsimon link) because I am and Australian Citizen, my husband can as he is a New Zealand Citizen. I'm in the process of speaking directly to Visitors Coverage about this and what we can do, they have suggested I purchase a Patriot America Plan(and my husband purchase the Liaison Plan), but this(Patriot America) doesn't offer as good a cover as the Liaison Plans... seems quite odd. I'll keep everyone updated on this thread if I can find something else, or if anyone as any other suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Im sure others out there have come across this issue in the past. Thanks again
 
Jonesy said:
Yes Im not sure why @SusieQQQ it does seem strange.
Thanks @EmilyW unfortunately we can't purchase the Liaison Plan(from Visiors Coverage on @Britsimon link) because I am and Australian Citizen, my husband can as he is a New Zealand Citizen. I'm in the process of speaking directly to Visitors Coverage about this and what we can do, they have suggested I purchase a Patriot America Plan(and my husband purchase the Liaison Plan), but this(Patriot America) doesn't offer as good a cover as the Liaison Plans... seems quite odd. I'll keep everyone updated on this thread if I can find something else, or if anyone as any other suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Im sure others out there have come across this issue in the past. Thanks again
Click to expand...

Well if I understand the description off the website right, that’s because it’s travel insurance not US resident insurance? Maybe noteworthy the exclusion- at least as they describe it in the outline - is resident of Australia etc, not citizen of (again implies it’s not aimed at US residents).

Actually reading further it says this explicitly - or were you enquiring under point 2?

Q1. Am I eligible for the Liaison Economy Plan ?

The Liaison Economy is available for:

  • 1) any non-US citizen or resident, visiting the USA, and any other country, outside their home country for a short period of time.
  • It is available for US citizens traveling outside the USA, and any other country that they might be permanently living in
  • 2) It is also available for US Green card holders, who live abroad, but come back to the USA for short trips.
  • 3)The plan is available for a minimum of 5 days and a maximum of 364 days.
  • 4) It is not available for US citizens, US Green Card Holders or long term visa holders, who stay in the USA permanently, and pay taxes in the USA.
 
Thanks so much @EmilyW I’ve been speaking over email with Visitors Coverage and now also Seven Corners directly to see if it is possible to book the temporary insurance through them. Still seems not that simple being an Australian citizen, but will keep the thread updated on the result. Great to know you were able to use the same company.
 
Jonesy said:
Thanks so much @EmilyW I’ve been speaking over email with Visitors Coverage and now also Seven Corners directly to see if it is possible to book the temporary insurance through them. Still seems not that simple being an Australian citizen, but will keep the thread updated on the result. Great to know you were able to use the same company.
Click to expand...

If you are going for more than just an activation trip, another option (albeit more expensive) is to take an ACA (Obamacare) plan from the very beginning. With no/low income you should be able to get a low rate, and once you have a job you can cancel that coverage. It might take a couple of weeks to get it started, and I think you will need the SSN, but it is worth looking into.
 
Thank you! @Britsimon I will take a look into that option today. We activated back in April and have our SSN, and our physical green cards as well now. Once again, thank you so much for your time and amazing job with the Blog you do. I don't think we would be in the position we are in now without you. Or it perhaps would of been a much more confusing road to get there. I'll keep you updated how we go.
 
I read that in 2019 there will no longer be tax-penalties if you don't keep a qualifying health insurance.
That sounds good, but it's odd: they canceled tax-penalties, but continue to treat health insurance as mandatory. This raises questions:
  1. Even after scrapping tax-penalties, will it nonetheless be considered a crime if you don't keep qualifying health insurance (any repercussion for not staying on the "clear" side of the law)?
  2. Or is it now clear that there's no risk to immigration status by foregoing "qualifying" insurance?
  3. If so, I'd rather continue foreign insurance with US coverage until employer insurance kicks in. Would that be possible without risking any kind of violations?
Does anyone have a clear idea or information about the scenario for 2019 and the implications for not keeping qualifying insurance? Thanks.
 
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