The usefulness of health insurance ID cards

[Stone]

Hi, all:

I have signed both my wife and my son up on my company sponsored health insurance coverage starting 1/1/2006. It is not cheap. Our health insurance premiums will go up from $100+/month (just myself) to almost $400/month (family). I want to make sure both my wife and my kid covered the minute they get off the airplane. Last week, I received the health insurance ID cards for my wife and kid, with their respective names printed on the cards. I would like to know how useful those cards during the GUZ interview? I certainly do not want those health insurance IDs get lost in the mail if I have to mail them to my family in China. Some U.S. doctors insist on seeing the ID cards prior to providing medical care.

Thanks

[Guest pushbrk]

Hi, all:

 

I have signed both my wife and my son up on my company sponsored health insurance coverage starting 1/1/2006.  It is not cheap.  Our health insurance premiums will go up from $100+/month (just myself) to almost $400/month (family).  I want to make sure both my wife and my kid covered the minute they get off the airplane.  Last week, I received the health insurance ID cards for my wife and kid, with their respective names printed on the cards.  I would like to know how useful those cards during the GUZ interview?  I certainly do not want those health insurance IDs get lost in the mail if I have to mail them to my family in China.  Some U.S. doctors insist on seeing the ID cards prior to providing medical care.

 

Thanks

177006[/snapback]

I don't know how useful the cards are at the interview but it seems they could carry some weight. Doctors' offices make copies of the front and back of the cards for their records. If you do the same before mailing to China, you should be covered for the short term it might take to replace the cards.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

While signing your wife and family to an insurance plan provides great emotionally security when health care is needed, there is no requirement or legislation that will enhance the approval process.

[frank1538]

While signing your wife and family to an insurance plan provides great emotionally security when health care is needed, there is no requirement or legislation that will enhance the approval process.

177011[/snapback]

When the bona fides of the marriage relationship are the issue, I would think that any documentation that corroborates a valid marriage would be helpful. Whether insurance cards provide corroboration is open to debate, but my guess is that it doesn't hurt and may provide some additional evidence.

 

While I have never heard of producing insurance cards at the interview in GZ, there are numerous instances where couples provide the cards at the AOS interview as additional proof.

[mercator]

While signing your wife and family to an insurance plan provides great emotionally security when health care is needed, there is no requirement or legislation that will enhance the approval process.

177011[/snapback]

I wondered this myself, because my insurance is free, family or individual, so it was a no brainer to add her, even though she has no TIN or SSN yet.

 

It is only useful in emergency situations in China, but I will be sending her a card when it comes, or just bring it with me when I go to China. I'll suggest she make a copy of front and back for the VO, just as further proof of the relationship. Maybe it will or won't help, but I figure more proof is better.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

When the bona fides of the marriage relationship are the issue, I would think that any documentation that corroborates a valid marriage would be helpful.  Whether insurance cards provide corroboration is open to debate, but my guess is that it doesn't hurt and may provide some additional evidence.

 

While I have never heard of producing insurance cards at the interview in GZ, there are numerous instances where couples provide the cards at the AOS interview as additional proof.

177014[/snapback]

Agree. It's something that could be used as additional evidence to prove a bona fide relationship, but again, there is no legal requirement that states having or not having health insurance makes any difference toward the issuance of a visa.

[Yuanyang]

My company will not allow me to include the wife and daughter until they arrive in the USA. After Dan R's experience, I'm taking his advice and will purchase traveler's insurance to cover them once they leave China.

[yuehan123]

If taking the cards with you to the interview makes either or both of you feel better then do it. Most interviews are short with no time to dig through, let alone find, and read all the stuff your SO will carry in there. Likely the VO knows what they will ask for and usually isn't much.

[Randy W]

The cards themselves are pieces of cardboard, with your ID information on them. If you want to have that available at the interview, either send the ID info, or send copies of the cards. If you want to REALLY get serious, have the copies notarized, but I doubt that anything more than the ID information is meaningful.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

The cards themselves are pieces of cardboard, with your ID information on them....

177080[/snapback]

Mine is plastic....