Applying for Health Insurance immediately after stateside

[KT9985]

Hello,

 

My wife had a successful interview experience recently for the CR-1 process, and now we are going back to the states. However, she is pregnant and the baby is due in February. We want to get health insurance ASAP when we get back to the states. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation? Can we apply without an SSN, or if not, will that take long to get one? Since we have a limited window of time to take care of everything, I'm just trying to find the quickest way to arrange everything in time. I know there's a one month window in which I can apply for health insurance upon her arrival to the US, but I think that requires an SSN which I sincerely hope won't be an issue getting relatively quickly. I checked off on her forms that we wanted to receive the SSN card once we arrive back in the US, but from some posts I have seen previously I recall it doesn't always happen quickly, which I am worried the window may not be open by the time it's received.

[MikeandRong]

By saying "we want" does that mean both of you are needing the insurance? I'm guessing yes because you have been living in China, but you may be currently employed by a US based company and getting a transfer back to the states, thus currently on your employers insurance.

 

If currently employed, just call your HR dept and add her, I did and no SSN was needed, just a copy of the birth certificate and marriage certificate. Both of hers are from China so the notorial translation books were accepted no problem (only xerox copies were needed). Added the SSN once we got it about 20 days after POE.

 

If your buying private insurance I can only guess as each state and insurance company would maybe have its own set of regulations, but again I'm only guessing. You could always make a phone call to the state your planning to move to and they all have free help to sign up for the ACA insurance (Obamacare).

 

1-800-318-2596 Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/

[Randy W]

I would think that putting her on YOUR policy would be fairly straightforward. There IS no requirement to have an SS number, but there ARE people who will tell you (and even insist) otherwise to the point where you just need to go somewhere else.

 

The SSA recommends entering 000-00-0000 for an SSN where a numeric entry is required, but none is available (the paper equivalent would be N/A). Before her CR-1 is processed, you could enter NRA for "non-resident alien").

 

You might try going through the motions on the healthcare.gov site and see how it turns out, both with and without a spouse's SSN.

 

The SSN can be acquired as soon as her immigration records appear on the SSA computers - in as little as 7 days to 2 weeks. You can try going by the SS office to see at anytime.

 

DON'T wait for the checkbox on the visa application to work - it rarely does.

 

It's just a matter of doing the legwork and seeing which door the card is behind.

[dnoblett]

Don't rely on the SSN checkbox on the forms, wait 2 weeks after arrival in the states, then visit the local SSA office and apply for one.