Do Green Card Holders Get Health Insurance?

Till December 2018, lawfully present immigrants and US citizens were required to get health insurance compliant with ACA (Affordable Care Act) under Obama Care legislation. Or they needed to pay a fine besides paying their medical expenditure.

But things changed since 1st January 2019- the federal law does not require immigrants, residents or US citizens to have mandatory health insurance plans anymore. However,  some individual State laws might  mandate health insurance policies for permanent residents and citizens.

What health insurance plan options are available for Green Card holders?

Parents who are coming to the US have three options to get health insurance plans- 1) from an insurance company, 2) from an insurance agent, and 3) Obamacare.

• Insurance company

There are plenty of health insurance plans for parents coming to the US. The best you can do is contact a reputable health insurance company in the US and purchase a plan for your parents. The benefit of getting a plan from a US insurance company is that the plans are recognized by the hospitals and clinics, hence the reimbursement and claim process will be smooth.

• Insurance agent

Besides an insurance company, you can contact an insurance agent like us to get an apt plan for your parents. We, Visitor Guard®, have years of experience in the field and have helped several customers to find the right health insurance plan for them while traveling overseas. Also, you can visit our website, compare the plans, and get quotes.

• Obamacare

Green card holders qualify for health insurance under the Obamacare program or ACA (Affordable Care Act) through the insurance marketplace. A vast majority of green card holders and US citizens are qualified to purchase ACA-compliant health insurance. If the person is 65 and above and is a green card holder for 5 years, he/she can qualify for Medicare but may have to pay for the premiums as they would not have enough credits (e.g. worked in the USA for 10 years) to qualify to waive the premium. Know about Can Green Card Holders Apply for Obamacare?

What is the coverage for the green card holders who shuttle between their home country and the US?

Many green card holders do not live permanently in the US. They may come to the US  every 6 months. In such case, you need to either buy a visitor insurance plan or an immigrant plan that satisfies your traveling needs of juggling between two countries.

What is the coverage for pending green card holders?

Did you apply for your green card recently? If yes, you can consider buying an immigrant health insurance plan or any temporary visitor insurance plan that can keep you covered till you obtain the green card status. If you are on a visitor visa and your family has applied for a green card for you, for insurance purposes, you will be still considered a visitor till your green card is processed. During the waiting period, you can purchase visitor insurance. Once your green card is approved, you can sign up either for an insurance plan for Green card holders or for Obamacare.

What should you do next?

People who are not aware of the healthcare policies in the US and the plans they should choose can come to us. We, Visitor Guard®, have both limited and comprehensive plans for various categories of travelers, suiting their travel and medical needs. You can compare the plans and get a quote from our website. Or call us at our number and get your queries resolved soonest!