Roquetin

Sorry if this has been covered before, I haven’t been able to figure it out from searching older threads.

I’m an academic at a UK university but I am set to spend 1 year in a US lab (J-1 visa), hopefully starting in January. I will still be employed by the UK university which will pay my normal salary to my current UK bank (so taxed in the UK). Health insurance won’t be covered by the US lab and since there is no reciprocal arrangement for health insurance between the US and the UK I gather I have to buy my own insurance for 1 year. I’m in my early 30s, a non-smoker, and generally healthy.

What options would you recommend for my situation? I'm guessing I could look for a plan that provides good coverage for emergency treatment, but I could just move back to the UK early for anything serious that does not require immediate treatment?

Many thanks for any advice!

civilservant

You must be a UK resident to receive free NHS treatment (you historical NI contributions are irrelevant) so as long as you are actually moving back then yes you could use the NHS - as to paying for health coverage here, its always more expensive to buy outside of an employer, and I would look into this in detail before making the move.

rpjs

That is going to change, with access to the NHS allowed for ex-pats with sufficient NI contributions. Don't think it's going to happen fast enough to affect OP though.

Giantaxe

Maybe going to change...

Jerseygirl

I would not consider coming here without good healthcare insurance. During the last few months I have had an emergency health problem that could happen out of the blue to anyone. So far the bills are in six figures.

scrubbedexpat099

About $400 a month for Insurance, see no reason why you can not go through the exchange.

You will be resident for both Obamacare and Tax.

I seem to remember that J1 tax can be complicated, the more complicated issue would be any tax credit, probably none? Or not a lot at best?

I have a feeling that will get into the head scratching territory.

rpjs

Well, quite, subject to actually being legislated for, of course. It does appear to be intended government policy and I should expect it will happen, absent the PM being implicated in the Hackergate trial and the government falling or some similarly unlikely event.

Bob

Great if you find out you've got something slow like cancer. Not so great if you get hit by a bus and spend months unable to travel...the emergency insurance will only go so far and the limits tend not to be high.

The real answer to cost, will depend on the state. Expect a range from $100-1000 a month and it'll all depend on what levels of cover you want.

Calle236

To Roquetin's original question - there's some very helpful information for J-1 visa holder in the same position here from Fermilab:
http://wdrs.fnal.gov/users/med_insurance.html

Whatever you do, please don't skimp on health insurance. You may be fit and healthy but make sure you're covered in case of accidents - you may not be able to get back to the UK. A couple of years back my other half was rushed to hospital and had emergency surgery then 3 days in intensive care. The total bill for the hospital, surgery and follow-up treatment and care was over $200,000. (Yes we were insured and so our insurance paid.)

penguinsix

While the university you are at may not "offer" insurance as part of their package, they may have a group plan available that you can purchase that will be significantly cheaper than going into the private market or the exchanges. It will likely be a 9-month, academic year plan, the kind they offer to their students.

Most universities have their own health facilities (like a care center, staffed by nurses and doctors) that they use for minor on-campus kind of incidents, negating the need for hospital visits for all but the most important things. Some schools even have hospitals. Going 'in house' to these facilities is cheaper for the students, so the schools can usually offer pretty good rates.

Talk to your contacts or ask for the contact details in the administration building that handles insurance. While it might not be 'offered' as part of your package, I'd be surprised if it wasn't 'available' to you.