neuser

Hi,

My family and I are about to move to Massachusetts. My wife and two children hold US passports I have a Green Card. We need to buy health insurance before we leave the UK. We do not have jobs as yet.

Not having lived in the states for up to six months does seem to be a problem.. does this mean that we need to take out an international health insurance package?

Can anyone out there recommend a course of action?

Thanks..

Rete

You can always sign up for the Massachusetts healthcare for the family can't you once you get here?

Bob

Need to be bloody skint to get on it though, well the free one...and if they could afford to get visa to get here, they won't be poor enough...the group option one also requires a year residence in the state.

But they do need to get something or they'll have a hefty tax fine at the end of the year.

Best advice, get a job, any job that offers insurance...

neuser

Thankyou for your comments so far.. Unfortunately having no health insurance is not an option. We need to be covered from the moment we land.. My main question is does anyone have experience of or know of a health insurance package that will cover my family without the need for a six month stay upfront?

Thanks again..

Bob

Yeah, an employer one...if you have a job lined up, that would be the easiest option.

There's einsurance or whatever the site is that offers basic insurance, might be enough to tide you over in a bind.

Most of the cheapo deals advertised in MA that you get on the state group rate require a year residence in the state to qualify.

lansbury

This varies from State to State but try Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They fully covered me as an Oregon resident from the minute I stepped off the plane visa in hand. I arranged it all before leaving the UK. You can ask what their policy is for Massachusetts.

The only limitation was the standard 6 months on pre-existing conditions, which as I didn't have any wasn't a problem.

ukintexas

When we first moved over we had the same problem and ended up going with a company called GMI - Global Medical Insurance - we had a policy with them for 12 months and then changed as soon as we could as the deductibles on that one were high but at least allowed us peace of mind for emergency care. I might have some other information on it that I'll try and dig out but I'm sure you'll find them if you Google the name.

The Horticulturalist

you can try seven corners if you find that BCBS won't cover you. If you all have social security numbers then it may be more straightforward.

Bob

Tufts and Aetna are the other big ones to look out for too....Tufts do usually pretty good deals apparently.

BritishGuy36

www.assuranthealth.com

I got a policy sorted two weeks before we left the UK with a start date of the date of our flights. As long as your US address will be in the right state* you can pay by credit card and will be covered as soon as you are over US airspace.

*For some reason they were only allowed to accept credit card payments if your US address was in certain states, I have no idea why that is, but OH was one of the states so I was fine.

kins

I used Medibroker years and years ago when in a similar situation. I don't think I ever claimed much from them, and it was expensive, but hey - what health insurance isn't expensive?

www.medibroker.com