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Medical Insurance

rmahbub said:
Guys, May be some of you can help me out.
My mother 65+ old just got here in FL in Green Card.
What kind of health coverage insurance we should look for? Any link you can share? or your thoughts?
Visitors insurance does not cover pre existing condition, other coverages is low too.

Any helpful site forum thread?

Thanks,
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britsimon said:
She cannot qualify for Medicare but she should look at plans like this - http://www.insubuy.com/inbound-immigrant-insurance/
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Sadly, this is why a number of immigrants don't bring their elderly parents over - medical costs can end up being prohibitive if you haven't contributed to social security for long enough to benefit from programs like Medicare.
 
rmahbub said:
Guys, May be some of you can help me out.
My mother 65+ old just got here in FL in Green Card.
What kind of health coverage insurance we should look for? Any link you can share? or your thoughts?
Visitors insurance does not cover pre existing condition, other coverages is low too.

Any helpful site forum thread?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

The new ACA (Obamacare) allows people 65+ who do not qualify for Medicare (i.e., new immigrants) to buy health insurance on the exchanges. It's not obvious, as all the material on Health Care Reform seems to assume those over 65 are receiving Medicare. Even the Healthcare.gov website's drop-down box for "age" ends at 64. During a lengthy conversation with a health insurance agent at Florida Blue, the subject of people over 65 who are ineligible for Medicare came up and he assured us that they can buy health insurance through them.

Florida Blue's website:

https://consumerdirect.bcbsfl.com/

Click through and see if you can find something but I believe ringing them and talking to someone would be better as it is all so confusing! Your mother may even qualify for a subsidy to help make it more affordable. It still won't be cheap but it's better coverage than those "new immigrant/travel insurance" type plans with all their exclusions and low limits.

The deadline for this year is March 31st so you need to sign up soon or you'll have to wait til October to sign up for 2015.

Good luck!
 
britsimon said:
Hey OTG.

The policy benefits for that plan are woefully short of the real costs. A simple broken leg in the USA would cost well over $25k, and if you have to stay in hospital for a few days - forget seeing any change out of $100k. Insane I know - but true. In reality, if you have money you need proper coverage. You need proper healthcare, proper auto and, if you have money, I would advise umbrella coverage also. If you get in an accident, or someone slips in your front yard, the first thing the lawyers do is run credit/background checks on you!

ACA costs are all available on the https://www.healthcare.gov website. You can price plans and see the options there - you should check it out.

About costs in CA, it varies enormously. The Bay area is expensive. I am renting in Livermore - I found a nice 3 bed house for $3k per month. Near SF (like Berkeley) prices are higher so $3k doesn't go so far.

I ended up in California because my wife prefers it here - it is more "real" than Florida and where I am the weather is great, the geography is wonderful (hills and valleys, not just flat Marsh land) and whilst the cost of living is high, salaries are higher also. So for now at least we are here - and loving it. I am working through my brothers company, but I could choose to base myself anywhere - and in the SF Bay area I have a lot of work opportunities for contract work.
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May I ask you about your major.
 
britsimon said:
I don't have a major or even a colonel. I assume you are talking about a degree - I don't have one. I often explain that by saying some people need that additional education - I didn't! :D :cool: :p
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Yes I meant your degree. Thanks for the kind reply. The degree is not the only way to succeeded,there are many people whom build their future without any degree. Hope you all success in your future.
 
skystar said:
Yes I meant your degree. Thanks for the kind reply. The degree is not the only way to succeeded,there are many people whom build their future without any degree. Hope you all success in your future.
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Yep, I know. I haven't done too badly...

Thanks for the kind wishes...
 
britsimon said:
I don't have a major or even a colonel. I assume you are talking about a degree - I don't have one. I often explain that by saying some people need that additional education - I didn't! :D :cool: :p
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Well, you may not have a major or a colonel, but we do know you have a drill sergeant in the person of Mrs. Simon - when she says jump, you say 'how high'? :p. You do that because you know Simon is happy when the Mrs. is happy :D
 
Sm1smom said:
Well, you may not have a major or a colonel, but we do know you have a drill sergeant in the person of Mrs. Simon - when she says jump, you say 'how high'? :p. You do that because you know Simon is happy when the Mrs. is happy :D
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That is EXACTLY right! :)
 
Britsimon said:
Hey OTG.

The policy benefits for that plan are woefully short of the real costs. A simple broken leg in the USA would cost well over $25k, and if you have to stay in hospital for a few days - forget seeing any change out of $100k. Insane I know - but true. In reality, if you have money you need proper coverage. You need proper healthcare, proper auto and, if you have money, I would advise umbrella coverage also. If you get in an accident, or someone slips in your front yard, the first thing the lawyers do is run credit/background checks on you!

ACA costs are all available on the https://www.healthcare.gov website. You can price plans and see the options there - you should check it out.

About costs in CA, it varies enormously. The Bay area is expensive. I am renting in Livermore - I found a nice 3 bed house for $3k per month. Near SF (like Berkeley) prices are higher so $3k doesn't go so far.

I ended up in California because my wife prefers it here - it is more "real" than Florida and where I am the weather is great, the geography is wonderful (hills and valleys, not just flat Marsh land) and whilst the cost of living is high, salaries are higher also. So for now at least we are here - and loving it. I am working through my brothers company, but I could choose to base myself anywhere - and in the SF Bay area I have a lot of work opportunities for contract work.
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When did you go to US?
 
Some of the latest news on ACA ('Affordable' Care Act)/'Obamacare' ... pretty bleak reading, even for those hoping for good health benefits through their job.
Some 150 Mio Americans apparently are insured through their employment, to some degree....so those of us who think the so called Affordable Care Act will not affect them because they hope to be insured as part of their job, there could be more changes for the worse in the near future. - I still can't believe how messed up health care is in one of the most powerful nations on the planet!

http://dailycaller.com/2014/05/28/report-employee-health-care-premiums-boosted-under-obamacare/

"In the first year that the health care law’s regulations and coverage are active, 86 percent of workers expect their personal medical costs to increase, according to the annual Aflac WorkForces Report, which has studied the landscape of employer-provided health coverage since Obamacare was passed in 2010.

That’s in line with employers’ projections as well. In 2013, 56 percent of companies increased their employees’ share of health care premiums or co-pays; another 59 percent plan to do the same by the end of 2014.

Employers and insurance companies have both markedly shifted towards a new model where consumers pay higher out-of-pocket costs every time they actually use health services — in addition to rising premiums."

Here an extract of a survey (linked to from above article):
2014 Employer-Sponsored Health Care: ACA’s Impact
http://www.ifebp.org/bookstore/aca2014/Pages/default.aspx

Some key points:

11% of employers with a workforce of under 50 intend to adjust working hours so that fewer employees will qualify as full-time staff, hence no legal requirement to provide health care.
(8% of employers with a workforce of over 50 said the same).

Cost containment measures (by employers to cut on health care costs to their full time staff):
Increase out-of-pocket limits - 32%
Increase participants' share of premium costs - 30%
Increase in-network deductibles - 30%
Increase co-payments for primary care - 24%
Increase.....etc (see table in linked survey results above).
 
The one thing I have not managed to get my head around is, whether or not an increase in income in the following (!) year would mean that any 'subsidies' applied towards the premium in the previous year will have to be repaid to the IRS?
As I understand, any 'subsidies' of health fund premiums (taken out on the healthcare marketplace website) are determined on the projected income for the year...so very likely some repayments will be required if those projections were too conservative for the current year.
http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/10/t...o-make-next-tax-season-most-chaotic-in-years/
 
Britsimon said:
She could sign up for one of the immigrant insurance policies, but I would not recommend that.

If she signs up for ACA (Obamacare) she will be covered within two to 6 weeks (basically if she signs up before the 15th of a month and and pays she will be covered from the first day of the month following. Given that she is certain to have a large medical expense, she should probably elect one of the most epensive plans, and the cost might be subsidised if her income is low enough. If she isn't able to get the subsidy she may have a high monthly cost for the plan. However, the subsidy may depend on her producing a SSN - so she will have to get on that straight away.

In addition there are options for people without insurance (possibly affected by the introduction of ACA), but if she wants to choose doctors and medical facility and get good quality of care then getting insurance is the way to go.

IF she doesn't have time to arrange that before the birth then she might want to delay her arrival until after the birth. It depends on her personal circumstances and whether she has cash reserves/assets. If she gets a big medical bill, and they believe she has money then they will come after her to pay the bill.
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Maybe consider florida then:

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
  • The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act requires hospitals to provide treatment to women in labor even if they have no medical insurance coverage and no ability to pay for the treatment they receive. Women in labor can go to any hospital emergency room and, if the hospital provides maternity care, women will be admitted to the labor and delivery unit. If the hospital does not provide maternity care, women will be transferred to another hospital that does, unless there is no time to transfer them before delivery, in which case their children will be delivered in the emergency room. The newborn babies will also receive health care immediately after birth, even if mothers have no health insurance and no ability to pay for their babies' care.
Other Sources of Free Health Care
  • Some clinics in Florida provide medical treatment to newborns on a sliding scale, meaning they base fees on patients' incomes. Newborns from families with very low incomes may qualify for free health care.


Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8069826_health-care-newborn-babies-florida.html
 
Eucn said:
Maybe consider florida then:

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
  • The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act requires hospitals to provide treatment to women in labor even if they have no medical insurance coverage and no ability to pay for the treatment they receive. Women in labor can go to any hospital emergency room and, if the hospital provides maternity care, women will be admitted to the labor and delivery unit. If the hospital does not provide maternity care, women will be transferred to another hospital that does, unless there is no time to transfer them before delivery, in which case their children will be delivered in the emergency room. The newborn babies will also receive health care immediately after birth, even if mothers have no health insurance and no ability to pay for their babies' care.
Other Sources of Free Health Care
  • Some clinics in Florida provide medical treatment to newborns on a sliding scale, meaning they base fees on patients' incomes. Newborns from families with very low incomes may qualify for free health care.


Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8069826_health-care-newborn-babies-florida.html
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The EMTALA is a federal law which means everyone can get emergency care. So, if you need emergency care you will get it, without them pausing to check your insurance card. However, what has to be done under emergency care is limited, so they don't have to do all you might expect them to do. This is why you see limbless homeless people here. Amputating a limb is sometimes the emergency solution that is needed when simple preventative measures were not be provided earlier. Drives me nuts!

Also - whatever care you get here, the hospital has the right to bill you afterwards - so if you have any money/assets you are better off having insurance because you won't be facing losing everything for a simple accident.
 
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