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Health insurance

Old Aug 24th 2009, 12:56 pm
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Default Health insurance

I have just obtained a CR1 visa and so my family (USC wife and our boy) are looking to relocate to either Florida or NY (dependent on whether we can sell our NY home) end October/early November.
One question that has come up is the issue regarding health insurance. Although we are confident that my wife can pick up a job in a hospital that should (we would hope) cover the family for health insurance, and in planning for the worse case scenario (in that my wife is unable to get a job) what health insurance companies provide competitive rates for health insurance for a family (husband/wife and child) and approximately what monthly costs would we be looking at?

Many thanks

Last edited by dolega; Aug 24th 2009 at 12:58 pm. Reason: clarifying worse case scenario
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Old Aug 24th 2009, 1:17 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance

Originally Posted by dolega
what health insurance companies provide competitive rates for health insurance for a family (husband/wife and child) and approximately what monthly costs would we be looking at?
There are thousands of them all offering something slightly different so it's a hard thing to comment on. As far as price goes, $50, $500, $5000 a month and anywhere in between and up depending on each individual being insured.
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Old Aug 24th 2009, 2:55 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance

Point taken..

thinking logistics (bearing in mind when we plan to go to the US).. and generally speaking, would health insurance be quick to obtain (such as obtaining travel insurance) or would it require doing a medical examination etc (thus prolonging the matter)?
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Old Aug 24th 2009, 3:15 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance

Originally Posted by dolega
Point taken..

thinking logistics (bearing in mind when we plan to go to the US).. and generally speaking, would health insurance be quick to obtain (such as obtaining travel insurance) or would it require doing a medical examination etc (thus prolonging the matter)?
Again, could be either. It should be fairly quick but if you don't have a social security number you may run into issues. Same with any pre-existing conditions. That's assuming you can get any at all without going into your states high risk pool if they have one. You can try calling some of the major companies like Anthem, Kaiser Permante and Aetna (among may others) to see their offerings and what they need to take up insurance or try a broker like ehealthinsurance.com. Keep in mind "as low as" really means "99% of people will pay more than this"

Just be aware that you need to go over things with a fine tooth comb and really understand what a policy covers. Generally speaking there is not much between most insurance companies in terms of price for similar coverage so if you see big price differences it means that the policy will have some significant differences that may not work for you, like big co-pays and deductibles or very limited coverage. Things to keep in mynd are co-pays, deductibles, doctor and facility network, prescription coverage, ER and urgent care coverage, surgery coverage, type of plan (PPO, HMO, HSA, etc) and many others. Also keep in mind that if you need dental or vision then that will likely mean a different policy and it may or may not be better to get one from the same company who does your health.

If you don't have coverage via work I think this is the hardest part of immigrating here because you can literally bankrupt yourself by making a bad or uninformed choice.
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Old Aug 24th 2009, 3:27 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance

This thread might be of some use:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=621392
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Old Aug 24th 2009, 7:22 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance

There are some one way immigrant type insurance policies around, but make sure they aren't travel insurance.

Just make sure you sort something out within 6 months to maintain the continual coverage.

Would probably be better to not move over as a family until a job with insurance is secured.
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