Bob

Anchor babies are a myth. The kids can't sponsor their parents until they are 21.

Emergency care can be free for the poor, that's just to get them stable and then punted else where. That won't get you regular health checkups on the baby.

messirules

The impression I get is that plenty duck bills as its quite obvious if you bill someone thousands of dollars ++ with no cents to their name they aint going to see a dime of it and from what I was aware federal law states that no treatment should be denied to someone due to lack of ability to pay.

You dont see infant mortality like in Africa etc in the US so there must be some facilities for the poor. Either that or they know someway of getting treatment that people on here dont.

penguinsix

Despite the 5-year-ban on new immigrants receiving Medicaid and Medicare funding, in some states their are public resources available for low-income pregnant women, regardless of immigration status. One of the most common exceptions that states opt to use is for state funds for Medicaid for pregnant women, as an unhealthy baby will cost them far more in medical bills than treating the mother with pre-natal advice and checkups. California, New York, and a few other states with large immigrant populations have some programs for this.

Still pregnant women do show up at the hospital emergency room. In fact there are occasional reports in the border areas of women in labor running through the checkpoint to the US side so that their kid will be born as a USCitizen.

By law and practice, hospitals cannot turn away people seeking emergency care. They still bill them for the services, but most of these bills are never paid, or negotiated out to a very small amount. The hospitals then charge others a bit more to cover these costs, and in many cases, end up going bankrupt themselves (many hospitals in low-income areas are in significant financial distress).

Relying on emergency care is, well, nuts if you are looking to settle in the US long-term. The costs of delivering medical care in an emergency room is almost always more expensive than 'normal' admittance in a hospital, and failure to pay will be a knock on your credit rating that will last for many years. (Of course some of those who are here without legal status or already in financial trouble don't necessarily care that much about their credit rating).

Bob

Infant mortality rates here are pretty shit compared to most of the western world though, but that's a hard stat to really take to much from as there's such diversity to this country.

Anyway, the problem is, you can't dodge medical bills or student loans by going bankrupt, so even if you end up paying pennies a month, you pay till you die.

And not being treated is different from not being billed and what is or is not an emergency also makes a big difference.

It, along with everything medical related in the US is complicated.

Michael

With the exception of emergency medicaid. If you end up in the hospital within the first 5 years or are an illegal immigrant, you can apply for emergency medicaid to cover the bills if you qualify based on income and your sponsor will not have to reimburse the government.

penguinsix

Yes, there is that exception. It doesn't cover prenatal or post-natal care but can be used for labor and delivery in some circumstances, according to this document:

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/06/2/gr060206.html'

UK_Lad

Thank you for all your replies.

My wife's visa has been sorted out and now we both have an interview at the embassy next week.

I'm still waiting to hear from the company health insurers to see what cover they can offer so fingers crossed.

UK_Lad

Company insurers have said they will not be able to insure my wife as she is already pregnant and the policy has a 10 month waiting period... Hmmmmm decisions, decisions, decisions!

penguinsix

Ridiculous. They are trying to basically treat you as having no prior coverage. You should call back and tell them that under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountabilty Act (HIPA), NHS coverage qualifies as pre-existing coverage and there should be no waiting list, no pre-existing conditions. See what they say.

Wikipedia:
Title I of HIPAA regulates the availability and breadth of group health plans and certain individual health insurance policies. It amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code.
Title I also limits restrictions that a group health plan can place on benefits for preexisting conditions. Group health plans may refuse to provide benefits relating to preexisting conditions for a period of 12 months after enrollment in the plan or 18 months in the case of late enrollment.[2] However, individuals may reduce this exclusion period if they had group health plan coverage or health insurance prior to enrolling in the plan. Title I allows individuals to reduce the exclusion period by the amount of time that they had "creditable coverage" prior to enrolling in the plan and after any "significant breaks" in coverage.[3] "Creditable coverage" is defined quite broadly and includes nearly all group and individual health plans, Medicare, and Medicaid.[4] A "significant break" in coverage is defined as any 63 day period without any creditable coverage.[5]

ian-mstm

Penguinsix has it right... you are protected under HIPAA, and the NHS does count as prior coverage. Whoever you spoke to, isn't familiar with federal law. I suggest speaking to someone higher up the food chain.

Ian

SanDiegogirl

Please bear in mind that you will NOT get insurance cover for the pregnancy with individual health policies, should you have to consider this as an option.

Ozzidoc

Subscribed to this thread. Will come back with the link. I relocated at 14 weeks pregnant.

Will find the relevant posts that have the letter your UK GP will kindly provide confirming current cover. (Your GP is within their right to charge for this letter.)


Someone write a reply so that it pops up that there's anew reply pls, then I'll remember to include links...

Thanks!!

Weeze

Hello Ozzidoc! Here's your pop up reply

penguinsix

As a general aside, the complexities of many things in American life, when applied to individuals from other countries, often confounds many employers. Things that are relatively ordinary when applied to a US Citizens, such as opening a bank account, getting a drivers license, and dealing with health insurance, often get overly complicated when an employer has to deal with someone who, say doesn't' have a Social Security Number, or a US credit rating, or a history of US health insurance.

HIPA is one of those things that can be difficult when coming from another country to the USA. For that reason, I would really encourage you to re-examine this with your employer, and push for a 'solid' answer specific to YOUR SITUATION and not just off a form that is mainly used for other US citizens. If they are not familiar, could you ask them to double check and possibly call the insurance agency, asking about NHS applicability and HIPA.

I think you really just got a standard "canned" answer that might not be applicable. If for some reason there is a ban on coverage, then you should really consider the potential problems of being uninsured and pregnant in the US. It might be worth it to stay in the UK for the time being until the baby arrives.

Jerseygirl

Hey Ozzio...how are you doin'?