Short-term health insurance - your thoughts?

wearyexplorer

Hi all - looking for some recommendations. My wife (an American citizen) and I will be emigrating to the US from Ireland in the coming months. As I will initially be going over temporarily on a holiday visa, I plan to use a travel insurance health plan. My wife has gotten a new job which will provide cover when it begins, however she will be without cover for 2-3 months initially before it starts.

I have been looking at the multiple short-term health plans available as healthcare there is outrageous without a health plan as many of you will know - any recommendations/good experiences/pitfalls etc?

From my initial look. decductibles (excess charges) can be sky high at times and the benefits unclear, intimidating trying to decide.

Thanks a mil.

ProudDUB

When I was in between jobs, I bought a 90 day policy with All State. The cost depended on the excess. It covered me for catastrophic scenarios, that involved inpatient hospital care, such as a car crash or something serious like that. It didn't cover day to day stuff, like going to the doctor if I had the flu, or sprained my wrist playing tennis. It was dear enough, but the peace of mind was worth it to know that I couldn't land my self with medical bills of $100,000, if I did something stupid like fall of the treadmill in the gym.

One of the other big insurance companies (State Farm, I think) had several walk in clinics in my city, (Atlanta.) They operate like the VHI Swift Care clinics here. It was $50 per visit if you were an All State policy holder, it was $120 if you didn't. (Prices probably have gone up since then.) I sussed them out and had their phone numbers, address and approx waiting times, in the event of my ever needing to use them. But I never did.

Laws governing health insurance can vary from state to state. There will be no one size fits all policy that cover the entire country. So contact a few brokers when you get over there and take it from there.

If your wife will have health insurance in work, she should be able to add you onto her policy once you are a US resident too.

Your Irish travel insurance plan will usually only cover you for a maximum of a year. Once you are no longer an Irish resident & you've been out of the country for a year, you won't be able to renew that policy, or buy another one.

TeaBagMania

Healthcare in the US is a joke and that idiot Obozo isn’t helping.

Your typical insurance plan is only good for serious injuries like auto accidents or if you’re diagnosed with cancer. If you break a leg or have to go to the hospital for stitches be prepared to pay for the majority of the cost.

Where do you plan on settling in the states?

All the best with the move

Dave1442397

As ProudDub said, get something that covers you for catastrophic injuries/illnesses, and, as long as you're in good health, don't worry about additional coverage until your wife's kicks in.

Get your Social Security number as soon as possible - you'll need it to get on your wife's healthcare plan.

wearyexplorer

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Healthcare in the US is a joke and that idiot Obozo isn’t helping.

Your typical insurance plan is only good for serious injuries like auto accidents or if you’re diagnosed with cancer. If you break a leg or have to go to the hospital for stitches be prepared to pay for the majority of the cost.

Where do you plan on settling in the states?

All the best with the move

Yes it certainly seems a very dicey prospect even with great coverage. California - thanks for the advice.

wearyexplorer

Dave1442397 wrote: »

As ProudDub said, get something that covers you for catastrophic injuries/illnesses, and, as long as you're in good health, don't worry about additional coverage until your wife's kicks in.

Get your Social Security number as soon as possible - you'll need it to get on your wife's healthcare plan.

I'm in good health thankfully - as I'll be coming over on a holiday visa for a few months before returning home to await (hopefully) green card processing, I'll stick with travel insurance (though word of warning to anyone who reads this and is in same boat, a lot of domestic travel insurance in Ireland seems to have 60 day limit - I am searching for one that will extend to 90 days for a single trip). I already have a social security number thankfully from a student visa years ago.

wearyexplorer

ProudDUB wrote: »

When I was in between jobs, I bought a 90 day policy with All State. The cost depended on the excess. It covered me for catastrophic scenarios, that involved inpatient hospital care, such as a car crash or something serious like that. It didn't cover day to day stuff, like going to the doctor if I had the flu, or sprained my wrist playing tennis. It was dear enough, but the peace of mind was worth it to know that I couldn't land my self with medical bills of $100,000, if I did something stupid like fall of the treadmill in the gym.

One of the other big insurance companies (State Farm, I think) had several walk in clinics in my city, (Atlanta.) They operate like the VHI Swift Care clinics here. It was $50 per visit if you were an All State policy holder, it was $120 if you didn't. (Prices probably have gone up since then.) I sussed them out and had their phone numbers, address and approx waiting times, in the event of my ever needing to use them. But I never did.

Laws governing health insurance can vary from state to state. There will be no one size fits all policy that cover the entire country. So contact a few brokers when you get over there and take it from there.

If your wife will have health insurance in work, she should be able to add you onto her policy once you are a US resident too.

Your Irish travel insurance plan will usually only cover you for a maximum of a year. Once you are no longer an Irish resident & you've been out of the country for a year, you won't be able to renew that policy, or buy another one.

Thanks - yes once her job starts adding me is far cheaper than if I were to get one on my own (at least 50%). At the same time I feel like a burden - on her own excellent cover is about 30 bucks a month. With me it adds on another 0 at least!

ProudDUB

Don't feel guilty about being a burden. It's what married couples in the US do. Going on her insurance (or her going on yours, once you get a job of your own) will be cheaper over all, than if you both have individual policies of your own. I doubt if her premiums will skyrocket for adding you on. It's usually a lot more expensive to add a wife onto a policy, than a husband. This is because of the additional OB/GYN related medical bills that females tend to have. So her policy is already loaded to allow for all that baby makin' stuff stuff