Sharmacbrit

Hi all. We will be moving to GA in September, initially staying with family. Can I start the health care application before we get there so that we get coverage quicker? I read somewhere that proof of residency can be provided within 90 days. Many thanks

lansbury

While it was some years ago when we moved over, my wife arranged in advance with Blue Cross Blue Shield for our coverage to start the day we arrived in the US.

SanDiegogirl

Are you not getting health insurance via an employer? i.e you are having to obtain an individual health plan?

Steerpike

Good point; in the US, health insurance is almost always provided by the employer. Only if you are self-employed, unemployed, retired, or working for a very small company would you need to worry about getting your own health insurance.

If you are looking for interim insurance until you find a job, then yes, I guess you would want to put insurance in place to cover the time until you find a job, in which case you may want to look at healthcare.gov.

tom169

Are you moving with an immigrant visa? If so you could probably walk into a Starbucks and get a job on the spot with health insurance benefits.

sharmac

Thanks all - I will have a job but the health care wont kick in for 60 days - so we need to apply through the exchange (both US citizens). Do we just apply with the start date of our arrival? How long will they give us to prove residency - and can that be after we arrive?

Steerpike

As previously noted, take a look at healthcare.gov. Or use google. I just googled "how soon does coverage start with healthcare.gov "

and found this:

https://www.healthinsurance.org/faqs...t-immediately/

If I enroll in the exchange, will that coverage take effect immediately?

NOTE - healthinsurance.org is NOT the same as healthcare.gov. They are somewhat misleadingly hoping to snag people thinking they are visiting the healthcare.gov site (IMO). But they do sometimes have useful info.

Relevant to you:

• If you’re enrolling as a result of a qualifying event, the effective date rules vary depending on the qualifying event.

The answer given is fairly involved, but the essence of it is (new for 2022), you will typically start coverage the first day of the month following your sign-up date. One subtlelty in the answer given is, it depends if you are applying in a state that runs its own exchange - there are 18 such states. States that run their own exchanges can implement different start-date rules. But you said you are going to GA, and GA does not have its own exchange, so you can follow the information about healthcare.gov specifically. Note also, typically you have to enroll before the end of the year for coverage the following year, unless you have a 'qualifying event'. I believe 'moving into the state' is such an event, but read the small print to be sure you qualify.

Also note this answer:

• If you enroll off-exchange, the same effective date rules are generally followed. Non-ACA-compliant coverage can be purchased with an immediate effective date, but medical underwriting will generally be used for these plans.

What this means is - there are policies you can buy legally that are considered 'non-ACA-compliant'. These can be scarily restrictive in terms of what they cover, but - you just might be able to find a policy to fit your needs in your circumstances. I had such a policy once from 'National General' so that may be a place to look if you want to pursue that option ( https://natgenhealth.com/get-a-quote.php ). When they say 'medical underwriting will generally be used for these plans', that means the rate you pay can be based on your actual medical condition, and there can be exclusions for 'pre-existing conditions' (anything you get on healthcare.gov must by law have a rate determined only by age, location, etc and NOT by your actual health condition).

sharmac

Thanks so much for the great information.