Can I Get Health Insurance before I Get my Green Card?

Can you get health insurance without a green card?

Yes, you can get health insurance without a green card. In the US, citizens, residents, and lawfully permanent residents (green card holders) can access the government healthcare programs like Obamacare, Medicare, and Medicaid only if eligible.

If you come to the US as a visitor for a few months, you are not eligible for government healthcare programs. Instead, you must purchase a visitor insurance plan from a reputable US insurance company that can cover you during your brief stay in the US. 

If you are moving to the US and are an immigrant, you cannot access the government programs because you are not a lawfully permanent resident yet unless you get insurance from your employer. In such cases, you must rely on a US insurance provider's immigrant or visitor insurance plans.

If you have applied for green card status and are in the waiting process, you will be considered a visitor in the US. Visitor health insurance plans can help you in this case. Once you attain your green card, your status changes from a visitor to a lawfully permanent resident. After which, you can purchase domestic plans from healthcare.gov. 

How to get health insurance without a green card?

When you do not hold a green card, you are not considered a lawfully permanent resident in the US. Instead, you hold the status of a visitor, meaning you get no access to government healthcare programs. In such cases, you are left with the option of purchasing visitor health insurance from a US insurance company. You can find numerous visitor medical insurance plans in the market that can cover you temporarily during your stay or the waiting period, i.e., the transition period from an immigrant to a green card holder.

Typically, these plans will cover medical-related benefits like eligible medical expenses, hospitalization charges, urgent care, doctor visits, prescriptions and drugs, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, and more. In addition, some plans offer travel-related benefits, such as  trip delay, trip interruption, baggage, personal loss, etc. Optional add-ons are also available with extra charges.

Can you buy health insurance from Marketplace if you don’t have a green card?

If you are not a US citizen or not a lawfully present individual in the US, you are not eligible to buy a health insurance plan from the Marketplace. In this case, you can get help from outside the Marketplace and turn to licensed and reputable insurance companies  operating in the US. You can purchase a policy that suits your visa status and change the plan when you receive your green card.

Only lawfully present immigrants and green card holders can purchase coverage from Marketplace. A new immigrant to the US like parents and relatives of individuals who are citizens or residents of the US can buy health insurance plans from Marketplace under the Obamacare program or Affordable Care Act (ACA) program.

Can green card holders get Obamacare?

Yes, green card holders become lawfully permanent residents of the US. Therefore, they become eligible to purchase plans from Obamacare. Green Card holders can apply or renew their Obamacare coverage during the Open Enrollment every year.  Green card holders living outside the US and coming to the country for a brief and have missed the Open Enrollment period to apply for  Obamacare can  check to see if they qualify for the special enrollment period or simply purchase immigrant  health insurance plans. These plans offer  adequate coverage during their temporary stay or till the time they can apply for Obamacare

What visitor insurance plans can you purchase?

If you are currently in the US on a visitor visa and your family members, or parents visiting the USA have applied for a family-sponsored Green Card, you are considered a visitor till you receive your Green Card. During this time, you can buy any of the visitor insurance policies and then switch to long-term health insurance plans for green card holders once you receive your Green Card.

Some of the popular plans you can buy are:

• Safe Travels USA Comprehensive- The plan offers coverage for medical accident and sickness, emergency medical and political evacuation, repatriation of remains, trip interruption, baggage, and accidental death & dismemberment. COVID 19 is treated and covered as any other sickness. You can find multiple options for emergency medical policy maximum and deductibles. Optional upgrades available for athletic sports, return to home, and AD & D.

• Patriot America- The maximum limit ranges from $50,000 to $1,000,000 with deductible in between $0 to $2,500. The plan offers emergency medical evacuation up to $1 million and pays 100% in-network. It can be extended to 24 continuous months but offers no coverage to acute onset of pre-existing conditions, remote transportation, and supplement accident. You can  consider Patriot Platinum plan to enjoy higher coverages.

• Atlas America- The plan covers emergency medical evacuation, emergency reunion, repatriation of remains, political evacuation, hospitalization and outpatient treatment, acute-onset of pre-existing conditions, sports coverage, pregnancy complications during the first 26weeks of gestation, and more. It also offers different travel assistance services to make your journey safe and smooth. Do check the brochure to know about the policy limits.

To know which plan suits you the most, contact Visitor Guard®. We are a licensed  and have helped  several customers to find the right visitor insurance while traveling abroad.