US Medical insurance
 

Hi,

I will be entering the US on a K1 Visa in mid-July and will marry my USC Fiance in mid-September. Once we are married, I will be covered by the medical insurance plan that his employer provides. However, I would like to make sure I have medical insurance for myself for the 2-3 months before I can be added to his cover. I am guessing that I would not be covered by a UK travel insurance policy as I will have emigrated - would that be right?

Can anyone recommend providers for a short-term (3 month) medical insurance policy or give any indication of what the costs might be?

I'd be grateful to hear what anyone else has done in a similar situation.

Thanks.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

I have personally not heard of any kind of short-term health insurance like that. When I came over, I didn't worry about it and was added to the DW's coverage through here work. Thankfully, I didn't need anything else, which, considering I was two weeks out from major surgery, was a relief!

You could, of course, get married straight away and be added to his coverage immediately. If you're planning a big wedding with family, etc. after 2-3 months, then a 'quickie' courthouse wedding would fulfill the legal requirements and then you could have a ceremony with everyone else later. I have friends who did exactly this with no problems.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

As a new immigrant you should be eligible to enroll immediately for regular "Affordable Care Act" coverage. There is nothing "temporary" about it, and searching or asking for "temporary coverage" is going to both confuse and complicate matters. ..... Go to healthcare.gov to request coverage. Depending on your coverage level the cost will probably be $200-$600/mth.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

Google "American Patriot". They provide short term (monthly) coverage for new immigrants.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

What is the advantage of that over regular ACA coverage?

Re: US Medical insurance
 

it bridges the gap until ACA takes effect after the application. When ACA started it took us 4-5 months of documentation to gain approval.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

I got married legally 2 days after I arrived on my K1 so I could be added to Mr Chogs Work insurance. The bridging insurance quotes I got were prohibitively expensive. This was pre ACA though

Re: US Medical insurance
 

I paid $320 a month for my wife and I. Coverage to $500k with $1000 deductible.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

Just so you know it is not the same as Health Insurance, more akin to Medical Insurance you would get under a Travel Insurance policy.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

That's it. Just catastrophe insurance. But better than nothing if you have to get hospitalized. It covers the period until suitable insurance can be effected.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

Wow! It took me a couple of days.

Re: US Medical insurance
 

How is the UK Travel Insurance provider to know you are going to USA permanently?
Surely you just need coverage for your "3 month vacation traveling around North America", that's not an unusual vacation length.

If you happen to get married whilst here because you "had a whirlwind romance" and didn't return why would they care or even know? Chances are you won't need to use the insurance but at least you have it just in case. Soon as you're married your on a US medical plan.

Is the UK travel medical insurance cheaper than the US alternative? Just make sure you don't get injured doing any sport activity unless it's specifically covered, I had a friend take out travel medical insurance, he tore his knee when he fell whilst on cross country ski's backpacking in Yosemite during winter. Claim denied - you never told us you were going to be involved in "winter sports" :banghead:

Re: US Medical insurance
 

Winter Sports is usually an add on for obvious reasons. Presumably your friend knew he was going to be engaged in winter sports.

My guess is that for small stuff they will not know, well you have to file a claim, UK address could be challenging.

Big stuff now that is another issue, so you tear you knee, have treatment that allows you to travel and they are obviously looking to get you home asap, how does that fit in?

Re: US Medical insurance
 

That would be called "insurance fraud". :rolleyes:

Re: US Medical insurance
 

No, my friend did not consider at the time he took out the insurance that he would be skiing. He decided to go backpacking in Yosemite in winter and someone loaned him cross country ski's so he could travel more easily in the snow, unfortunately he fell and because there aren't breakaway bindings on cross country ski's his knee got torn.

As far as having to go back to UK to make a claim, that I suppose is something the person looking for insurance needs to decide if it's worth the risk or not. Maybe in the case of a bad joint injury you'd want to go back to the UK and get it fixed on the NHS as fixing it here will cost a fortune - as my friend discovered when he got the bill for his knee surgery which turned out to not be covered.