(Newswire.net — January 6, 2014) — As Obamacare goes into effect for individuals many are asking how this will affect US visitors and US immigration. Never before has individual health insurance been available to any individual without medical underwriting and approval.
Insurance availability, eligibility and coverage differ for many reasons. These include
– Visa status
– Age
– Employment
– Marriage
– Lawfully in the US
– Covering Pre-existing conditions
For immigrants, the biggest determination may the lawfully in the US status. Marketplace eligibility for immigrants can be very confusing. US visitors are not immigrants and not all immigrants will find health insurance on the marketplace or find that the marketplace is their best option.
The Affordable Care Act, ACA was meant to address the over 44 million people in the US in that have no health insurance.
It was not designed to cover those that are not lawfully in the US, those that are visiting or those coming to the US for healthcare. People and do come to the US for healthcare. They must either pay themselves for the care or they might have a permanent worldwide international health insurance plan.
Over the past 6 years or so there has been an unannounced policy that many trying to immigrate to the US have run into. People from all countries apply for US citizenship. The process has goes ahead relatively smoothly. It may have taken a year or longer.
At the end they are told that everything is in order and all they need to provide is one more thing. They need to show they have proof of US health insurance coverage that has no pre-existing condition exclusions in order to complete the immigration process and enter the US.
This requirement is impossible to meet. They may have well have been given a requirement to bring in a rock from the rings of Saturn. Obamacare has added a level of confusion to this. Yes, if in the US and eligible they could get a plan but in order to get the plan they must be legally in the US first. In order to get into the US legally they must have proof of having the coverage per the specific requirements they cannot enter the US legally. It is denying entry by having an impossible requirement.
There are ways people do enter and can meet this requirement.
They might be employed by a US corporation that has them and their family on their US health insurance plan. This would come from a large international US company that has an insurance plan that can include non US citizen employees out of the US. Small business group health insurance plans typically exclude employees not physically located in the US.
A person can apply for a permanent worldwide international major medical health insurance plans such as the Azimuthrisk Meridian Enhanced plan. These permanent health insurance plans are medically underwritten and so subject to approval. It is necessary to apply and be issued one to two years prior to when the person or family might want to come to the US so to be beyond all pre-existing exclusion limitations. This is a very good option for many as even if there is no plan to move to the US there is then the option to be treated anywhere in the world including the US.
Obamacare addresses US domestic health insurance for eligible persons.
Medicare is what US citizens are eligible for at age 65. If they have paid in then they receive Medicare Part A at no charge and buy Medicare Part B and Part D Prescription coverage at the current price.
US immigrants are not eligible for Medicare until they have been in the US for more than 5 years.
As they have typically not paid in, they become eligible to buy into Medicare at the then current price. The 2104 Medicare Part A price is $426 a month. Medicare Part B and Part D would be the same as for a US qualified citizen.
The best option is to consult an agent very experienced in international health insurance.
There are only a few qualified agents. This is because of the about 1,000,000 people immigrating to the US a year only about 1% of those people, or about 10,000 a year, fall into this category in the entire US. Compare that to a local agent who could have 10,000 possible clients within a few miles.
Immigration attorneys, people immigrating and family members would do well to learn about available immigration health insurance plans beforehand.
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