Health Insurance options for Elderly Parent

[CivicFan]

I'm looking for options for health insurance for my mom that will be arriving in the US from overseas. She is 61 years old so cannot have Medicare. She has health issues and cannot work. As part of the US government agreeing to allow her to come to the US, I had to sign an affidavit forbidding her from being able to have disability benefits or Medicaid.

The health insurance plan that I get from my employer does not allow anyone but my spouse and children.

Which leaves us with two options - either she will be uninsured, or she will have to get insurance on her own.

What are the options out there? What I have seen so far, a high deductible plan with 50% co-insurance is what is available to her at about $1,000 a month. This, I think, is a ridiculous ripoff.

Are there any options out there? What do BITOGers in similar situations handle this issue? This has literally made us unable to sleep at night and I am thinking about abandoning the plan to bring her over. Where she lives they have universal coverage and she doesn't have to worry about health coverage.

 

[kb01]

I'm grappling with similar issues and have lost a lot of sleep and given myself an ulcer in the process (we just took out a second mortgage to pay down medical bills and continue our insurance). As a 61 year old with pre-existing conditions and ineligible for Medicaid, she is pretty much SOL. Off the top of my head, some options would be to...

1) Go without insurance and negotiate for medical care. Emergency Rooms can't turn anyone away and if she doesn't have much in the way of assets, collection agencies can't do anything.
2) Travel back to the old country for medical care.
3) Try to get into your state's high risk pool.
4) Get a plan with a high deductible (> $10,000 or $15,000).
5) Get a menial job just for the health insurance.
6) Marry somebody with health insurance from a group plan and pay the person for this privilege.
7) Stay in the old country until 2014.

But realistically, in her situation it sounds like she will just have to go without insurance. It's going to mean going to the ER for treatment, negotiating with providers, and in all likelihood, not being able to pay for services and burning a lot of bridges in the process.

 

[stockrex]

*she is SOL*
wow, we are richest country in the world but we cannot provide an affordable option for someone looking to BUY insurance.

Civicfan, which state do you live in?
most states have state mandated insurance for the uninsured, they offer enlistment in this only once a year around jan to april. get that insurance, will probably run about $400 to $800 a month, but includes office visits etc.

>mail order prescriptions from canada.

>write to your local politicians and ask them for a solution, remember you are paying their salaries.

good luck!

 

[Footpounds]

I'm not sure if being $14 TRILLION in debt qualifies us as the "richest country in the world" anymore. Just saying....

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
*she is SOL*
wow, we are richest country in the world but we cannot provide an affordable option for someone looking to BUY insurance.


As pointed outally the poorest nation considering our debt per capita, Total debt and anyway you want to look at debt.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: CivicFan
As part of the US government agreeing to allow her to come to the US, I had to sign an affidavit forbidding her from being able to have disability benefits or Medicaid.

Where she lives they have universal coverage and she doesn't have to worry about health coverage.


Is there a particular reason she wants to relocate to the US at her age? If she has health issues and is provided low or no cost health care in the country where she is currently a citizen it seems to me to make more sense to stay there.

 

[stockrex]

Sorry op, bit off topic,
True, but where is the money then? where did the $14 tril go?
average household debt has gone up or is steady, students loans are up, and feds (that means we, the citizens) are in the hole for $14 tril,
I say again, where is the money?

back to topic:
http://www.priorityhealth.com/plans/mi-individual-health-insurance/smic

and state michigan mandatory coverage:
http://www.michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-10555_13648-26242--,00.html

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
As part of the US government agreeing to allow her to come to the US, I had to sign an affidavit forbidding her from being able to have disability benefits or Medicaid.

Where she lives they have universal coverage and she doesn't have to worry about health coverage.


Is there a particular reason she wants to relocate to the US at her age? If she has health issues and is provided low or no cost health care in the country where she is currently a citizen it seems to me to make more sense to stay there.


I want her to move closer to me. I can't make trips to Europe very often.

 

[PandaBear]

This is not going to be cheap regardless of what you think, and to be honest the high deductible plan is probably the cheapest option if you plan to keep her in the US.

How is the health care system of her previous home nation? I know that many countries aren't bad if you have money. If it is not too far away I'd consider frequently flying her over for regular work, and leave only emergency work in the US the only "honest" option. The dishonest option would be go uninsured and use the emergency room, and to be honest I'd not go that route unless I have to.

 

[Al]

Well honestly its unlikely you will be able to afford insurance. What will likely happen you will decide which bills she will pay and which bills the Hospital will just absorb.

 

[Dave Hess]

Option # 1 and don't worry about her paying the medical bills.

If she has to visit the ER every week then so be it, they have to provide medical attention for her illness.

 

[expat]

How long can she buy travel insurance for, 6 months? 1 year?
Could if be possible to visit America, and stay for the duration of her travel insurance each visit?
It doesn't cost much to do a round trip form/to Europe.

 

[PandaBear]

I would imagine travel insurance will not cover long term illness related health expense, but rather emergency service sufficient to bring you back to the home country.

If your home country has free / low cost health care, this would be a good option, but if not, it is no use.

 

[CivicFan]

She would be moving here permanently so a travel insurance is not feasible.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: CivicFan
She would be moving here permanently so a travel insurance is not feasible.

Why not go to Europe more often? Its got to be cheaper than insurance costs even if you take time off work without pay.

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
She would be moving here permanently so a travel insurance is not feasible.

Why not go to Europe more often? Its got to be cheaper than insurance costs even if you take time off work without pay.

It's sad, isn't it, that a decision to bring my mom over to be close to me for care-taking is hampered by health insurance concerns?

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: CivicFan
It's sad, isn't it, that a decision to bring my mom over to be close to me for care-taking is hampered by health insurance concerns?


It is also sad that typical Americans also have to endure such shenanigan since they were born, long before they reach retirement.

What most of the people I know "hire" a helper in the home country to take care of their parents rather than bring them over for this reason, along with others.

One other concern would be cultural shock. It takes many years for younger adult to adjust to a new environment, let alone a senior citizen. Does she know English? It could be a big stress to move someone her at an old age if she couldn't. Are there similar backgrounded immigrant community in your area? She would lose most of her friend and would probably want to make new ones that think similarly.

 

[CivicFan]

She was an English teacher for some 20 years. I don't think there is much cultural differences between the Western countries but I think you may have a point. I have to ask her about it but she watches American TV on the satellite dish she has at home so she is aware of the things happening here.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: CivicFan
she watches American TV on the satellite dish she has at home so she is aware of the things happening here.


Even if everything is the same, she has to make new friends and get used to new climates and having new daily routine. If this is something she would like to do I'd recommend letting her stay here for a couple months as vacation, to see if she likes it here (and if you likes her here).

I've an aunt that really regret bringing her mom over, because her mom becomes very dependent of her, and try to ruin her romantic relationship so that she will not get married and will take care of her mom for a few more decades. Her mom wasn't like that before coming to the US, and blamed her partly for up the rooting.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: CivicFan

I want her to move closer to me. I can't make trips to Europe very often.

This is kind of my situation as well, although my parents for now are perfectly happy living and still working over there. I've thought about bringing them here at some point in the future to be able to take care of them, but the thought of piling up medical bills drives me up the wall. My wife wants to do the same with her parents, too (they live in yet another part of the world). Her mother has serious arthritis that requires expensive treatments. Between her parents and mine, we would probably have to declare bankruptcy

Anyway, no solution here, but I'm curious what options you come up with.