jamgramet

Hi, searched the forum to no avail.

Does anyone have experience bringing an older parent to come live with them in the US? We are now US citizens and the Aged P is in his 80s with various ailments.

We are well along in the green card process but I'm wondering how we will handle health insurance. Would welcome feedback from anyone who has knowledge of this or has actually had to deal with it.

--James

Guindalf

Getting any kind of insurance for someone of that age with pre-existing conditions will be either very expensive, full of conditions or completely impossible!

The only realistic hope is if you could have coverage from your work, otherwise it will be bank-breakingly prohibitive, assuming your company plan will even let you add a parent as a dependent.

The immigration process is quite long and involved and I don't believe they would even qualify for Medicare/Medicaid, so the simple answer is don't bring them over! I know I'm being simplistic, but unless you have very deep pockets (in the millions!), it's a big risk.

SanDiegogirl

He won't be eligible for Medicare for years, so you'll have to apply to your State's health exchange for a medical insurance policy.

If your state does not have its own exchange then apply to the Government one:

www.healthcare.gov


Depending on his financial circumstances will affect whether or not he gets subsidies for the monthly premiums.

At his age you could be facing hundreds of dollars a month. Have you considered how you would pay for his care if he needs to go into an elderly facility?

Nutmegger

At his age? The truth is that it costs a few hundred dollars a month to obtain coverage for much younger people, with no medical problems at all and a high deductible.

SanDiegogirl

Well I can't give an exact figure as to what he will be charged, so just wanted to give a heads up that his family are looking at hundreds of dollars a month.

Who knows whether he will obtain subsidies? Have heard of people who have subsidies of several hundred dollars a month which makes their premiums almost affordable.

jamgramet

Thanks for the quick replies so far.

He's not short of a penny or two, so he'd just have to pay the insurance premiums.

So far, my research indicated that Obamacare guarantees health insurance for all, but then I saw a story that said insurance companies can refuse insurance.

Hence I'm wondering if anyone has actually been through this process. There are enough Brits over here with parents that someone must have gone through it already.

--James

Pulaski

A handful have "passed through" BE, asking about "bringing parents over", but I don't recall seeing any post-immigration reports of successes, costs, failures, and frustrations of finding medical insurance for an elderly parent.

The problem you face is that the Affordable Care Act "system" as implemented, assumes that everyone transitions to Medicare at age 65, so there isn't much of an insurance market for anyone older than that.

Sailortobe

as the parent is not a citizen or even a green card holder he will not be eligible for coverage through the Affordable Care Act, and I doubt he will be eligible for either Medicaid or Medicare for the same reason. I believe it would mean trying to obtain individual coverage from an insurance provider. Major expense$$$$$$.

jamgramet

Sailortobe - when he comes over, he will come over as a green card holder...

SanDiegogirl

His children are US citizens - he'll get his green card when he arrives.

Already said he is not eligible for Medicare.

Sally Redux

Madness.

Sailortobe

Assuming his status to resident is immediate then I assume he can apply through a state exchange or the government exchange. However, it will still be very expensive. As a 65 year old healthy non smoker, the premium for a Platinum policy varies between $1500 and $1800 a month in my State. For someone in their 80's it will rise exponentially.

SanDiegogirl

Just for information sake, on the Californian Exchange I input an 80 year old with an income of 30K with moderate use of doctor visits/medication.

There MAY be subsidies available the site informed me but not taking that into consideration, 34 plans were returned as possibly being available.

Some were as low as 150 per month, (really?/bronze plans) but all had high deductibles (5K plus) and very high co-pays.

As we all know premiums can still change when you submit your full medical history.

lansbury

Just to give you an idea. My wife who is 64 and diabetic, has a low deductable, and does not receive any subsidy towards her premiums, pays $717 a month. At 80 I would hazard a guess the premiums would be well in excess of that.

She has a platinum policy.

sir_eccles

I don't believe an ACA compliant policy can do that, particularly one done through the exchange. Age and smoking only.

The bigger problem will be whether there is a plan available for an 80 year old. As others have said, the system generally assumes people use medicare over 65. Likely to end up looking to buy off the exchange (off exchange policies must also be ACA compliant with regards to medical history, pre existing conditions etc).