Health Insurance for Immigrants or How to Survive in the Country of Great Opportunities!

USA is the country of freedom, but this rule doesn’t work if we speak about health care. Immigrants must think in advance and get health insurance to be sure, that if one day they become ill, they will have enough money to pay for the recovery in hospital and medications.

Medical Insurance for Immigrants

It doesn’t matter, if you have come to USA with a green card or on H18/H4 visas – in any case the first thing you must do, when you come to the country of great opportunities is to get medical insurance. Even if you are extremely healthy person, still you will visit your doctor from time to time. It will cost you a pretty penny, if you are not insured.

So, you plan to purchase one of insurance products. Your first step is to contact an agent, who sells New Immigrant Insurance. Purchasing of this insurance product is possible only for a new resident of USA – you are considered as new only within first two years. If you are not a new immigrant, you should sign another deal with your insurer.

Your next step is to go to the office of the insurer and take the package of documents with you. Thus you should take your visa or green card and your passport. Some personal information is required by the insurance company from the immigrant – its name, address, passport and driving license number etc.

After that you will be offered a number of options that can be included in the insurance policy you get. Thus you should choose, if you include in your policy dental care, getting of eye glasses, preventive care etc. The more options you choose, the more expensive policy will become, but you can expect wider selection of medical services in this case. Time option is also important. New immigrants can get the policy for a limited time period. Thus your policy can be valid from one month to twelve months. It is possible to extend the action of your policy, but you should do it before its expiry date.

When you sign the deal and make the first premium, you will be given a special card that proves, you are insured. When you pay your first visit to the doctor, you have to show him this card. After that he will be ready to help you.

This mechanism is simple and it is not hard for the new immigrant to insure himself if he is an average person of age group from 25 to 65. But if he is older, to get the insurance policy is much harder for him.

Health Insurance for Elderly Immigrants

You have come to USA in your golden age. So you haven’t been working in that country. It is impossible for you to get financial privileges. In fact, the immigrant can expect to get the insurance policy and to be protected only if he has worked on the territory of USA during a decade or more. Keep in mind that you must have a legal job and work constantly during these ten years. If you were unemployed or didn’t have a legal job, or you have come to USA, being too old to work, it means, that you are not able to get cheap medical insurance.

It is a pity, but most of immigrants over 65 can’t get cheap health care insurance. They can get the policy for about $500 per month.

But if you have come to USA as a parent of an American citizen, your child is considered as your sponsor. He is responsible for the medical care that you will get in case of an emergency, if you get ill. The immigrant over 65, who hasn’t been working in USA, can’t become the burden for the government and can’t get discounts for his medical care. It is his task and the task of his sponsor to pay the medical bills.

Elder immigrants can’t get discounts for their health care from the government, but still they can get the insurance policy from private insurance companies. In this case the price of the policy is quite high and the period of its validity is short, but still it is a good way out for an immigrant to be insured.

For a person of age, who makes this hard decision to start a new life in a new country, getting health insurance is expensive, but necessary. It is mandatory. Besides, it is necessary, because after 60 health problems occur regularly. Private insurance providers offer higher rates, but you will save in any case, because paying medical bills out of pocket is much worse.

Insurance for Undocumented Immigrants

It is a problem for undocumented immigrant to get insurance policy. But if it was your decision to stay undocumented in USA, you need some way out. First of all you must understand that getting insurance policy in this case will be expensive. The cheapest rates government health insurance programs offer and they demand the whole package of documents from the new policyholder.

If you are undocumented immigrant, but you are employed and have enough money, you can go the office of some private insurance company. As usual, their rates are higher, but they may insure you without asking the documents. Not every private company offers this kind of service, but take your time and try to find the company that provides its clients with this service.

If you are employed, you can become the part of your group health insurance policy that is usually bought by the employer for his workers. If the group policy is taken, it spreads its action to anyone, who is busy in this company, even if he has the status of illegal immigrant.

It is a risky idea to be the illegal resident of the country. It is possible to be sued for this. Insurance companies mostly reject to deal with those, who have some problems with legacy. The immigrants without a green card can remain uncovered, if they ask for medical help, even if they own a policy. So, it is better to solve the problems with law and legacy, before you purchase any policy.

So, any resident in USA – native or not – must own medical insurance card. Immigrants are not exclusion, so they must take care in advance and become insured. To get the insurance policy, an immigrant needs a package of documents. If the person is alien and he can’t be insured legally, still he can get the policy from a private insurance company, although it is a risky deal. If immigrants stay uninsured, they can be penalized, so making insurance deal is a task number one for the new citizen of USA.