Healthcare insurance options for elderly parents

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preethav

Registered Users (C)
I am planning to ask my parents to come live here with me once I am a naturalized citizen . . . I don't know if they'll decide to come here, but one thing I cannot do is tell them to come here and live with me, and not be able to provide them with good healthcare.

Please understand that I am not asking for a freebie from the govt for my parents who I know have not contributed to the US medicare/medicaid system. Instead, what I am looking for are options. What have some of you others done to provide good healthcare for your elderly parents with pre-existing health conditions, with reasonable cost and decent coverage?

My dad will be around 70 when I think he'll finally be able to come here, and my mom 60 . . . I know I am looking at high premiums. So, my question is, what insurance companies and plans have others here chosen for their relatives? I just want to gather enough information, to make sure I can afford to provide healthcare for my parents before asking them to immigrate here.

Thanks for your help.
Preetha
 
Tremendous question, your parent's age are same as mine. I don't have concrete answers, what I researched is that once they reach 70+ no insurance company will provide coverage. The only option is to buy medicare Part A is 443 and Part B is 96.40/month. Not sure whether this is cost per person or both for mom and dad.
My question is whether Part A and B will cover preexisting conditions, what is/are the catch? :confused:
 
I am in the same shoes and I am sure million others are. Please keep this thread alive. The original posters - if you find further information, please post here
 
One cannot buy into Medicare for the first 5 years of their stay in the US during which the sponsor is fully responsible for providing financial support. there are very few (if any at all) insurance companies that will offer "regular" health insurance to anyone in 70+ years age bracket unless they are Medicare eligible.

I am also looking for a similar insurance for my mom who I am planning to bring over to US but haven't found any so far.

The link provided in an earlier post is for a visitor's insurance and can only be purchased for no more than 12 months, does not cover any pre-existing conditions and is useful for only things like accidents, etc.
 
There is one copmpany that offers a very limited plan to bridge the gap until one can buy into Medicare. I cannot remember the name of the company making the offer, but it was posted on one of the major forums.

Also, Medicare premiums are per person.
 
I did not know about the Medicare has to wait for the first 5 years. Also what about Medicaid, can they be immediately eligible for Medicaid.
 
Immigrants who arrived on or after August 22, 1996 are not eligible for Medicaid unless one of the following exceptions are met. To be eligible, an immigrant must be:

a refugee who has been granted asylum;

a refugee who has been granted status as a victim of a severe form of human trafficking;

a refugee whose deportation is being withheld;

a permanent resident who have worked 40 quarters under the Social Security Act;

a veteran or has been in military active duty status (includes spouse and dependents).
 
So does that mean that if those parents have conditions that require continuous monitoring (think diabetes/ blood pressure), then the sponsor is responsible for full costs?

I had another somewhat related question- do pre-existing health conditions affect decision on parents GC? In other words can they be denied because of this?
 
Anya4ever said:
So does that mean that if those parents have conditions that require continuous monitoring (think diabetes/ blood pressure), then the sponsor is responsible for full costs?
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Not necessarily. The immigrant is responsible for the costs, and if state or local governments pay for them then they can come after the sponsor for repayment.

I had another somewhat related question- do pre-existing health conditions affect decision on parents GC? In other words can they be denied because of this?
Click to expand...

Inadmissibility on health grounds is pretty specific and rare. What is more likely is that poor health may cause inadmissibility on public charge grounds.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
Not necessarily. The immigrant is responsible for the costs, and if state or local governments pay for them then they can come after the sponsor for repayment.

Inadmissibility on health grounds is pretty specific and rare. What is more likely is that poor health may cause inadmissibility on public charge grounds.
Click to expand...


Right, so that means that my parents (or I, since I'm the sponsor) will have to pay full cost without help from the govt....?


I'm sorry, but I don't really understand what "public charge grounds" means...Can you explain?
 
nkm-oct23 said:
One cannot buy into Medicare for the first 5 years of their stay in the US during which the sponsor is fully responsible for providing financial support. there are very few (if any at all) insurance companies that will offer "regular" health insurance to anyone in 70+ years age bracket unless they are Medicare eligible.

I am also looking for a similar insurance for my mom who I am planning to bring over to US but haven't found any so far.

The link provided in an earlier post is for a visitor's insurance and can only be purchased for no more than 12 months, does not cover any pre-existing conditions and is useful for only things like accidents, etc.
Click to expand...

Does the time they spend in US while they are on visitor visa count toward the 5 year stay requirement?
 
There is nothing available. Zip, zilch, sifr. There is no insurance coverage you can buy whatsoever no matter what you are willing to pay as premiums. If your parents come on a B1/B2 visa, their stay does not count as no single stay will be longer than 6 months at the most anyway. Your parents will have to pay for their own bills. You could buy visitors' insurance that costs about 250-400 a month depending upon the deductible, but as someone rightly pointed out that does not cover pre-existing conditions. At that age, just about anything other than an accident can be attributed to something pre-existing, and any significant claims you might have are likely to be denied.

You will need to cover their expenses yourself, and anyway when they filed for their B1/B2 visa you or someone must have given a letter of support (DS-156 I think is what it is called) that makes you liable for all their expenses when they are here.

But the thing is, your parents are still young, ie at 70 you might be looking at another 20 - 30 years of a lifetime, and perhaps you should apply for their immigration/GC now so that the meter starts running and when the GC finally arrives, and subsequently citizenship, more options can open up. Of course, this is all longer term but no harm starting because the long term also does arrive one day.
 
Coverage under Medi-Cal

Two friend, one Indian and another Iranian have told me that there have been using Medi-Cal to provide medical coverage to their parents.

Both parents had very little income and were over 65 years of age. The Medi-Cal has not caused any problem for them.

I am interested in your comments.

Thanks
Mahesh
 
Check your employer's Health Insurance Plan

You may want to check your employer's health insurance plan, if you have that option. Some companies provide for insurance coverage of one adult other than your immediate family (spouse, children) as part of the family plan. That option is probably the cheapest one you can get, sadly that option is only for one additional person. If your spouse's company has the same provision then the other parent (your spouse willing :) ) may be able to be on that plan.

On a side note, such is the sorry state of medical care coverage in this country of ours and congress is busy watering down any semblence of reason in the health care reform bill. So my fellow citizens, Arise Awake and Stop Not till you lobby your congressman/senator to support a meaningful health care reform bill. Special efforts from fresh citizens of Red States will be much appreciated. :D
 
Arise Awake and Stop Not till you lobby your congressman/senator to support a meaningful health care reform bill.

wow. Swami Vivekananda paraphrased. Hope the 'brothers and sisters of America' heed your advice
 
They can get a job that provides health care insurance. US normal retrement age is now 66. Many people over 70 also work. A person working can also cover their spouse.
 
Please keep this thread active

I am so hapy to find that this is being discussed

I belong to a red state Georgia..

I have contacted my representatives, senators, Commissioner of Insurance..not help yet

I work for an insurance company,,I even asked this question to our CEO when he was visiting us..no help either..

I am ready to do any other things that you can think of..I am on the only child and I desperately want to get my parents here..The only hurdle is medical insurance..

I am optimistic about obamas health care plan..As per this plan , based on what I understand both the Senate and the House Bills are removing conditions for 5 year wait time for legal residents to buy insurance..If that is the case, then it would be really good for us..
 
I've been keenly following the Heath Care Bill as well. According to Chris Dodd, an “eligible individual” is defined as “a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence or an alien lawfully present in the United States.”

This pretty much covers all green card holders and those here LEGALLY with visas. And there'll be a mandate to have health insurance for all eligible individual. The next big question is how will we pay for such insurance and how much the premium will be? I won't object o paying a reasonable amount to have my parents covered just to get them/us a piece of mind.

Please keep this discussion alive. Please also contact your representatives to have your voice heard as well.

Happy holidays!
 
I have lived in 3 states with my mother who was 65+ when she got her Green card and joined me.

There is no private health insurance for individuals 65+
Non citizens are not eligible for Medicare

That leaves medicaid as the only option. Each state has different rules.
In CA, she was able to get Medi-Cal (CA's medicaid) immediately becuase she was 65+ and had no income or assets.
In TX, she was not eligible for medicaid. She got some medical care from a charity clinic that was partially funded by the county. Harris county (Houston) is known to be more generous and she may have qualified for medicaid there. I did not live in Harris county
In NC, she qualified for medicaid becuase she was 65+ , had no income and she had been in the US for 3+ years.
 
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