toodle

Hello

I am the married daughter of a USC with a 3-year old, thinking of submitting the I-130 with my father as the sponsor. I know that there is a considerable wait for this visa, and that really isn't the issue. I am questioning whether it's worth making the move to the US at all due to my husband's health condition. He had a kidney transplant 5 years ago, and all has been well. He will, more than likely, need another transplant in the future (although hopefully not for a while). I understand that he could get health insurance through employment (his or mine), but the issue really is that when the time comes for another transplant, will the system defeat us?

My father, understandably, constantly reassures me and thinks that all will be covered with an employer-based healthcare scheme, and, worst case scenario, we could 'always return to England for treatment'. I know that this is not the case, and even if we could, it's not just a matter of hopping on a plane, having the operation, and being back at work the next day! We really don't want to make this move, expecting that we will have to return one day for this reason. I also know that his condition may mean that he won't pass his medical, but saying that he does, my main question is, can we realistically expect to get through a major health issue like this without going bankrupt? Also, would my husband be eligible to go on a transplant waiting list being a permanent resident and not a USC? Any advice would be appreciated.

avanutria

Is there a reason that you must move? You've said you don't want to...why do it at all?

Are you eligible for US Citizenship at all, which would open the door to you and your husband moving later on if necessary, in the event that your father couldn't sponsor you?

toodle

sorry if I wasn't clear, we DO want to make the move, but not if we had information to say that the healthcare issue will cause us a major problem, and ultimately make us have to return. My father can sponsor us, so that isn't the issue.

ukintexas

Hi there,
Glad your hubby is doing well after such a major operation. IMHO it's all down to finances - if you have lots of money in the bank and can afford all that goes with the healthcare here, then you'll be fine. If you can't then you're going to struggle. Sounds simplistic and obviously with healthcare there are lots of caveats, but ultimately it boils down to the $$$'s.
My husband had an ICU stay last year and ongoing treatment that cost approx $250,000 to "the system" and our chunk of that was about $10,000. I wouldn't like to say what a transplant would cost but you may get close to a $1million, which could make your actual responsibility $40k or so.

ian-mstm

He will have a medical examination prior to a visa being issued. However, they are generally looking for either signs of contagion, or that he will be a risk to himself or others. Having a kidney transplant, should not, by itself, cause a problem. That's not to say that you won't have a problem with health insurance once you're in the US, but that's an entirely separate issue from getting a visa.


I'm not so sure!


Yes.

Ian

toodle

Hi, thanks for the reply, it's good to have some realistic info - unfortunately we don't have lots of money in the bank!! Hope your husband is doing well also.

toodle

Thanks - it's good to think that his condition wouldn't exclude us from emigrating and I know there are many separate issues to consider - I guess the main one would be trying to get a feel of how much cost we are likely to incur as a result of my husband's health condition (assuming that he has insurance)

ian-mstm

If he can get health insurance, he should be fine. The insurance will likely pick up most of the costs leaving you with only a fraction of the entire bill to pay. Mind you, that could still be substantial depending on your financial situation - but that's why credit cards exist!

Without health insurance, a single hospitalization could easily bankrupt you. Sadly, that's the harsh reality of the current health care system in the US.

Ian

penguinsix

It really comes down to the type of insurance you are able to obtain, and we can't really answer the details of that until you have an offer and the insurance plan in front of you. Some plans will have things such as a lifetime maximum payment--say $1 million. Any charges over $1 million and you will have to pay the difference. Others will have a deductible where the first say $5,000 a year you have to pay. Others will have what they call 'co-insurance' in which you have to pay 10% of all hospitalizations and insurance pays 90%. Or you could have a plan in which you pay $25 copay on entering the hospital and that is it, full stop. Insurance will pay the rest.

We just don't know yet.

I don't think pre-existing clauses will seriously hurt you given that you are in the NHS and that I think that removing the pre-existing condition ban is the one thing in the health reform debate that both parties seem to agree on enough to get passed.

One other bit. Organ donation rates are a bit higher in the US than they are in the UK. However, I do not know if you would get a higher percentage of genetically acceptable organs in the UK (i.e. white anglo-saxons, assuming that is your husband's ethnicity) vs. the US (a melting pot of DNA from around the world). Might be worth discussing further with your doctor.

Good luck.

toodle

Thank you - very helpful

katnap8

Hiya

My husband had a kidney transplant 7 years ago last August. He originally emigrated as a fiance 5 months after the transplant. I was living and working at the time in the US and I had health coverage, we were married 2 weeks after he emigrated and his was on my insurance policy 2 weeks after that for the 1st of the following month. There were no problems adding him to the insurance and he was seen to almost immediately for a check up and to prescribe him his American prescriptions.

We're now living in England and looking to moving back to the US and we have the same concerns as you do. I don't think the kidney transplant will be a deterent but I'm thinking that US Immigration may want me to go ahead of him in order to get a job and to make sure there is health insurance in place for him. I'm also thinking that if both you and your husband worked perhaps you could double insure him, i.e. he gets a policy through his employer, and then you get a policy from your employer and then put him down as a dependent.

As someone else mentioned it does make a big difference what type of insurance policy you end up with. Our thinking is that if the kidney starts to fail for whatever reason (hopefully never) that we would come back to England, although not sure how practical that is, but we would like to keep his consultant in England in the loop.

toodle

Hi, thanks for your message and glad to hear your husband is well. My only problem with the 'returning to England' scenario is that (a) I have heard that you are not automatically entitled to healthcare on the NHS once you are no longer a resident here, and (b) as you know, we would probably have to give up life in the US for a while if we were to return to England to live and get treatment - this would be a tad disruptive to say the least! Although, you never know what might happen and you can't plan for every eventuality, but it would be foolish for us to plough ahead without some understanding of what we are facing. Have just thought of another question - you mentioned that your husband received his medications via your insurance. Was the cost fully covered or did you have to pay a fair amount, seeing as though they are expensive drugs?

katnap8

Hiya

This was 5 years ago.
I worked for a non-profit so usually not the best insurance policy. But we paid $325 a month to cover him, then we had the $25 co/pay which was about once every 3 months cause that is about how often he saw his consultant and then we paid $90 co/pay for the prescriptions which again was once every 3 months because they gave him a 3 month supply. We used to see the receipts that showed the cost of the medication in thousands and thanked God for the insurance which made it manageable.

He only had my insurance because he was in and out of work but if he had his own, the company usually pays for the employee and maybe the employee has a monthly cost, and then of course depending on the visits and prescriptions.

My husband also has gout and high blood pressure so along with the anti rejection medicine he got the others as well.

katnap8

whereabout in Yorkshire are you? We're in Middlesbrough and looking to head to San Francisco Bay Area or Sacramento Area in California

toodle

We live in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. My dad lives in Sarasota, FL - not sure if we want to stay there forever, but it's a lovely place to start! To say that you didn't have the 'best insurance policy' it seemed to have covered everything well and you didn't have to pay too much for the drugs. Although, things could be more expensive now. I think we will go ahead and file the forms - there are many years to wait and who knows what will have happened! I may also look into employment options - I have a PhD and could get a job-based visa, although maybe not at the moment with the current situation! Hope everything goes well with your move - keep me posted, will be interested to hear how you get on.