New York Health Insurance: What Immigrants Need to Know

Many immigrants who have recently moved to New York have doubts about whether to take out medical insurance. Many are embarrassed by its high cost. However, the price can be affordable for everyone, and some even get it for free. Channel author shared personal experience The ABC of the immigrant on the Yandex.Zen website.

“One of the huge mistakes new immigrants make is the lack of health insurance, because it is“ very expensive, ”the author notes. "In fact, it is much more expensive to be in the hospital urgently - and it can cost thousands and tens of thousands of dollars."

Your monthly health insurance premium is tied to your income: the more you earn, the more you pay. It all depends on the plan you choose. “In the movies, you can often see people say that the patient's insurance does not cover certain procedures - these are the features of the plan,” the author explained. "As a rule, the more expensive the insurance, the better the coverage."

How to get insurance

The first thing to do is go to the site https://www.healthcare.gov/ and choose your state. There you can also get acquainted with the various plans and their costs. “Usually people see that the most affordable insurance option starts at over $ 400 (for example, in New York) per person. This is not true, ”the author notes.

On the subject: A guide for an immigrant in New York: how you can save on medical care

The maximum cost of insurance will not exceed $ 20 as long as your income is up to $ 23 540 per person. If the income per person does not exceed $ 17, then insurance will go at all for free. This is the so-called Essential Plan.

Below you will find a list of insurance companies that offer Essential Plan in New York State:

• Affinity health plan;
• CDPHP;
• Emblem health(Part of the HIP GHI family of plans);
• Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield;
• Fidelis care (widely represented in the city of New York);
• Healthfirst (widely represented in the city of New York);
• HealthNow Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York;
• Independent health;
• Metro Plus Health(widely represented in the city of New York);
• Molina healthcare;
• MVP;
• United healthcare(widely represented in the city of New York);
• Univera healthcare;
• Wellcare of new york;
• Yourcare health plan.

In companies that are widely represented in New York, you can get insurance simply by visiting their office, choosing the nearest representative office.

If you doubt your English, look in advance on the company’s website to see if they have employees who speak your language.

From the documents, you need to have an SSN and a green card / visa with you. “All of the above applies to people with immigration visas,” explained the author. "There may be other conditions for non-immigrant visas."

Green card holders need not worry - Essential Plan's free health insurance is not public charge.

If the income per family member is more than $ 23, the cost of contributions increases. However, here you can save by taking insurance government subsidy. Its amount is inversely proportional to the level of income - the lower the income, the greater the subsidy. “Therefore, paid insurance can be almost free ($ 1, $ 5 or even $ 0), if the size of the subsidy is equal to its cost,” the author noted.

For example, if family insurance costs $ 1200 per month, then you will only pay $ 330 per month for it, and the rest will be covered by the state. “Don't be afraid to take out insurance,” the author urged. “I know from myself that Essential Plan works great. Even my dentistry was free. Well, prescription drugs too. Agree, it's good when a drug for $ 550 gets you absolutely free of charge under free insurance. "