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New immigrant health insurance

J

JESSJAME5

Registered Users (C)
Hoping to hear from people who are already in the US, and what health insurance they went with when first arriving, was it good, did you have to use it etc.

I was looking on insubuy site, there's one insurance company - American Patriot, that seems a good price for me for a year worth of coverage. I'm just not entirely sure how good it is, what it covers, if it's worth it. It seems to cheap compared to other plans. Maybe at my age (21) things are cheaper regardless. I did a quote for my mum on her own and it was basically double my quote, but she's in her late 40's.

Any suggestions? I leave in 11 days and I'm getting stressed out now haha.
 
JESSJAME5 said:
Hoping to hear from people who are already in the US, and what health insurance they went with when first arriving, was it good, did you have to use it etc.

I was looking on insubuy site, there's one insurance company - American Patriot, that seems a good price for me for a year worth of coverage. I'm just not entirely sure how good it is, what it covers, if it's worth it. It seems to cheap compared to other plans. Maybe at my age (21) things are cheaper regardless. I did a quote for my mum on her own and it was basically double my quote, but she's in her late 40's.

Any suggestions? I leave in 11 days and I'm getting stressed out now haha.
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At first glance it seems like a good deal - extraordinarily good. Be careful with ANYTHING that sounds too good to be true. That plan appears to be for foreign citizens travelling to the USA. They might have some restriction/caveat on people "living" in the USA - so if they realise you have taken up residence in the States they may have a get out.

The other thing is the max limits. They allow you to pick a max coverage amount and if you go for something like $50k that can quickly become exhausted. An accident requiring anything more than a few days of treatment will carry a big bill.
 
britsimon said:
At first glance it seems like a good deal - extraordinarily good. Be careful with ANYTHING that sounds too good to be true. That plan appears to be for foreign citizens travelling to the USA. They might have some restriction/caveat on people "living" in the USA - so if they realise you have taken up residence in the States they may have a get out.

The other thing is the max limits. They allow you to pick a max coverage amount and if you go for something like $50k that can quickly become exhausted. An accident requiring anything more than a few days of treatment will carry a big bill.
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The site is listed as "New Immigrants Medical Insurance" though, so it seems odd that they'd reject you because you're now a resident there.

Yeah I picked the $100,000 - $125,000 coverage for the quote and $250 deductible, gave me the $550 a year. Does seem good..
 
JESSJAME5 said:
The site is listed as "New Immigrants Medical Insurance" though, so it seems odd that they'd reject you because you're now a resident there.

Yeah I picked the $100,000 - $125,000 coverage for the quote and $250 deductible, gave me the $550 a year. Does seem good..
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Sounds very good. Perhaps you take it knowing that most accidents etc would be covered but a serious illness would need you to go back to your home country because even $125k can be wiped out very quickly.

Read the fine print, but it may well be a good option for some....
 
Yeah, I'd like to hear from some people who have used it & what their thoughts were, would be good information to know before purchasing. If it's good though it'll cost me less for the year than one semester's university health care cover would cost.... So it'd be a huge and well needed saving.
 
Am also looking for new immigrants insurance for a family of 4people. Two adults and 2kids, 4yrs and 1yr old. What is the best out there? Would appreciate to hear your take.
 
The health system is such a dog's breakfast. We've been investigating what policy to buy ourselves, over the past few weeks. It's taken that long because it's so convoluted, with new terminology to understand: copay, coinsurance, HMO, PPO, out-of-network, URC, blah blah blah. And the more you look into it, you realize you're paying a lot of money and getting very little because of the massive deductibles. It's more like catastrophic/emergency coverage, versus a true health insurance plan. I don't know why some people here are so happy with the laughingly named "Affordable Healthcare Act", or Obamacare, but I guess if all you've experienced is the criminal mess of a system here, any wet-noodle improvement must be thrilling for you. I'm rather underwhelmed myself.

We looked at Insubuy too, and thought that the American Patriot one seemed good. Then my husband talked to an insurance broker and he pointed us to Azimuth Risk Solutions and their Meridian plan. It'll be $3,750 for the both of us, annual premium, with a $1,000 deductible. They're underwritten by Lloyd's of London. There are exclusions but we're okay with that. You have to figure our your needs based on your own health. Luckily, we're both fit and healthy (knock on wood!), aren't on expensive meds, with no major hereditary health issues in our family.

It's difficult to know what limit to go for because costs of procedures apparently vary wildly from state to state, hospital to hospital, and they're not too forthcoming with the data. But you have to expect to fork out a few thousand, at least, if hospitalized, even if insured (unless you have some gold-plated plan from your employer). I've heard that a simple broken arm can cost about $4,000, a cracked skull $38,000, 3 stents $65,000 just for the hospital portion, etc. And you have to be careful about staying within the network because getting something done out of network will leave you with a massive bill that your insurance company won't pay for. I'm still not sure how to ensure you don't get out-of-network care if you're unconscious in a hospital, or about to bleed to death. But I heard that in those cases, when you get the bill, you have to be ready to argue and bargain them down.

Good luck. You'll need it!
 
Welcome to America Vichel! With what you've seen so far, do you still think the Canadian health care system is crap compared to the US?
 
Vichel said:
It's more like catastrophic/emergency coverage, versus a true health insurance plan.
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That's exactly what insurance is for. My car insurance doesn't pay for my gas and tires.

Your best bet is insurance through your employer. Additionally, Blue Cross sells individual plans. You'd be looking at several hundred dollars per month for a family.
 
Sm1smom said:
Welcome to America Vichel! With what you've seen so far, do you still think the Canadian health care system is crap compared to the US?
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lol! Well, the Canadian system is .... um cheaper, and a lot less complicated/convoluted, that's for sure. But I was also underwhelmed by it during our recent year there. It's under a lot of strain. Good for emergency care but not so much for everyday issues. Not enough doctors and extremely long waiting lists. We liked the Aussie system the best, by far. A good mix of universal public system with very affordable private insurance not tied to your employer.

TheRealCanadian said:
Your best bet is insurance through your employer. Additionally, Blue Cross sells individual plans. You'd be looking at several hundred dollars per month for a family.
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That's the craziest thing about the US system - that the best & more affordable is only available to those working for employers offering health benefits. And only if you're working a minimum of hours (30?). That sure leaves out a lot of people: self-employed, part-timers, etc. I don't believe companies/employers should be involved in employee health insurance. If you hate your job but they have good health benefits, you feel trapped. Or if you're self-employed or a casual or part-timer, you're out of luck. It should be single-pay, like Australia and other countries.
 
Why health insurance in US is so expensive and complex ?

what about a poor person or very new immigrant , what can he do if he is sick ?
 
Princedriss said:
Why health insurance in US is so expensive and complex ?

what about a poor person or very new immigrant , what can he do if he is sick ?
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Die on the street I guess ???? :(:(:(

Health insurance is probably the only major issue that I have with moving to America. I grew up in a country with universal healthcare system and now I have been living in the UK since I graduated and it is pretty much the same. Sometimes you have to wait a bit but you will get the required treatment. It is frustrating at times but good in my opinion. In case of emergency you will get immediate help and then long term treatment. My mate had a bad back which turned out really serious and he had the op the same day. No questions asked. He needs help and that was it. Then physiotherapy for few months and other treatments and that's all paid for. That makes me feel safe plus there is private insurance available as an addition which isn't too expensive. Every time I have been to America my employer covered the insurance or I simply paid for holiday insurance but a lot of Yankees that I know struggle with the payments or simply when they are young they decide to risk it all and live without the cover for few years.

It worries me that if you loose your job and it will take you 8 months to find a new one you will loose your cover if you cannot afford health insurance. In EU you still get help.

That is a serious topic in my opinion and I think a lot of people moving to the US have to consider health insurance to be priority!
 
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The health care stuff is definitely my biggest worry for the US.

I'm young & health (enough), I just want cover for emergency things, like a broken bone etc, stuff that sends most people bankrupt.. But even just that is so expensive itself. I don't like it. I'm an unemployed student, I've got no hope. Even as part time work while doing full time studies, I couldn't get any cover that way. Just all sucks..
 
Vichel said:
lol! Well, the Canadian system is .... um cheaper, and a lot less complicated/convoluted, that's for sure. But I was also underwhelmed by it during our recent year there. It's under a lot of strain. Good for emergency care but not so much for everyday issues. Not enough doctors and extremely long waiting lists. We liked the Aussie system the best, by far. A good mix of universal public system with very affordable private insurance not tied to your employer.

That's the craziest thing about the US system - that the best & more affordable is only available to those working for employers offering health benefits. And only if you're working a minimum of hours (30?). That sure leaves out a lot of people: self-employed, part-timers, etc. I don't believe companies/employers should be involved in employee health insurance. If you hate your job but they have good health benefits, you feel trapped. Or if you're self-employed or a casual or part-timer, you're out of luck. It should be single-pay, like Australia and other countries.
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:) Yeah, the Canadian system is less convoluted or complicated (and cheaper :eek:) and the the waiting time for major surgeries could be long. However, back when I used it, I didn't have any problem getting in to be seen by my family doctor or another doctor for a 2nd opinion when I felt the need to. The waiting time wasn't much different from what I'm experiencing now trying to see my doctor in the US for every day issues.

You can't imagine my shock the first time I took my kid in to see the doctor and I was told about my $50 co-pay! I was like 'you mean I get to cough up 50 bucks every time I step into your office" and I was told 'yep'. I always love to get 2nd opinions when it comes to medical issues, I had to think twice about doing that in the US initially. Thank God though for my job which takes care of my medical insurance. Because I came to the US as an expatriate from Canada, my employer has had to review and match my insurance coverage to what I would normally get back in Canada - 100% coverage and no co-pay any more!
 
JESSJAME5 said:
The health care stuff is definitely my biggest worry for the US.

I'm young & health (enough), I just want cover for emergency things, like a broken bone etc, stuff that sends most people bankrupt.. But even just that is so expensive itself. I don't like it. I'm an unemployed student, I've got no hope. Even as part time work while doing full time studies, I couldn't get any cover that way. Just all sucks..
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If you are a student you might have cover available through your college. If not there are policies available for students such as this one http://www.isoa.org/compass_main.aspx
 
britsimon said:
If you are a student you might have cover available through your college. If not there are policies available for students such as this one http://www.isoa.org/compass_main.aspx
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The college does have a health care thing but it'd cost me just over $1700 for the year, where as American Patriot is about $760 for the year.. Which is why I was trying to see if it was any good haha. ISOA won't cover me I'm fairly sure as I'm also a green card holder :(
 
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