What if there is no health insurance in the United States?

As we all know, seeing a doctor in America is extremely expensive. In the United States, about half of individuals go bankrupt not because of business failure, but because of huge medical expenses. Therefore, it is unthinkable to provide for the aged without medical insurance in the United States. However, if there is public medical insurance, everything will be much easier. The welfare policy for the elderly in the United States stipulates that the elderly over 65 basically do not have to pay much medical expenses, and the cost of hospitalization is also very small. However, the premise of all this is to join the two major public medical insurance systems-Medicaid and medical insurance. Let's learn about the types and conditions of Medicaid and medical insurance, so that you can plan your or your parents' retirement life in the United States in advance and avoid losing your hard-earned money because of medical treatment.

Medicaid insurance for the poor in America.

Medicaid insurance for the poor is the insurance that the federal government and the state government cooperate to provide medical services for low-income people. American citizens and legal immigrants who meet the standards can apply, but they must obtain a US green card for more than five years before they can apply. If you have a good income in the United States, you may not be able to apply for Medicaid when you are old, but only for medical insurance.

Medicaid insurance is mainly funded by the state government, and the federal government provides some funds through the federal medical insurance and medical assistance service center. Under the guidance of the federal government, each state government has formulated its own Medicaid insurance plan and implemented it, including the poverty line and asset standard for the state government to determine the eligibility of applicants, the scope of medical services covered by insurance, and the reimbursement level of medical expenses. The state government examines the income and assets of the insured every year to decide whether to retain or cancel their insurance qualification.

Each state has its own Medicaid program. If you need more information about the state Medicaid insurance, you can go to Medicaid.gov to inquire about the state Medicaid insurance regulations.

Medicaid is medical insurance for low-income groups. This is a project managed by the state government. You must be a resident of this state to apply for local low-income medical insurance. The most important criterion for eligibility for Medicaid is income. You can apply below the standard line set by each state.

New immigrants who have just arrived in the United States usually have to wait five years to qualify for Medicaid organized by the federal government and state governments and other medical insurance for low-income people. Therefore, during this period, the elderly need to buy their own medical insurance as a transition.

Federal medical insurance

Medicare is the government medical insurance provided by the federal government of the United States for the elderly aged 65 or above, the long-term disabled under 65 or the patients with permanent renal failure. The applicant must be an American citizen or permanent resident, and the applicant or his spouse has paid the medical insurance tax to the country for more than 10 years (40 quarters). The health care insurance plan is managed by the federal government, and the States implement a unified policy.

Medical insurance is divided into four parts:

Part A: Hospitalization insurance, which pays most of the hospitalization expenses for the beneficiaries, but the patients need to pay part of the expenses themselves. Hospitalization insurance also includes professional nursing and rehabilitation expenses for patients after discharge;

Part B: Supplementary medical insurance, paying 80% of the doctor's clinic treatment expenses for the beneficiaries;

Part c: medical insurance preferential plan, which is some additional medical service insurance designed by government-chartered insurance companies for the beneficiaries of federal medical insurance;

Part D: Prescription drug plan is a government-subsidized drug welfare plan. Beneficiaries who participate in this plan can buy prescription drugs at low prices by paying extra insurance premiums.

The hospitalization insurance (Class A) part of Medicare is compulsory, and the required funds are raised through the payroll tax levied by the government. In the United States, all employers and employees need to pay 0.45% of 65438+ wage income respectively to pay for hospitalization medical insurance to support the funding demand of this medical care insurance.

The other parts of Medicare (B, C and D) are voluntary. Whether you are an American citizen or a legal immigrant, you must pay an extra premium every month to participate in these insurance plans.

The American government allows low-income elderly people to apply for Medicaid at the same time when they cannot afford out-of-pocket medical insurance.

When you want to participate in medical insurance at the age of 65 after immigration, you will basically encounter the following three situations:

(1) worked in the United States and paid medical insurance tax for more than ten years.

If you work in the United States and pay the medical insurance tax 10 for more than 40 years or 40 quarters, you can join the medical insurance for free at the age of 65, and directly join the medical insurance A (hospitalization) insurance without paying the insurance premium. If necessary, you can also purchase the American nursing B (outpatient) plan and the medical insurance D (prescription drug) plan as supplementary insurance.

According to the standard of 20 16, the minimum insurance premium for purchasing Medicare B (outpatient) plan is 65438 yuan +004.9 yuan per month (the insurance premium standard of Part B is different according to personal income). When using insurance, individuals need to pay at most 166 USD. The insurance premium for purchasing Medicare D (prescription drug) is about $200 per month (different insurance companies have different prices).

(2) Those who have legally immigrated to the United States for five years, but have not worked in the United States or paid medical insurance taxes for ten years.

If you are a legal immigrant and have lived in the United States for five years, but have never worked in the United States or paid the medical insurance tax for ten years, you will not get free Medicare insurance for the time being after you reach the age of 65. However, you can purchase Medicare medical insurance or other private medical insurance at your own expense.

Immigrants who have not paid the medical insurance tax and have a green card for more than five years can pay insurance premiums to the government's Medicare medical insurance plan A, that is, hospitalization insurance, after reaching the age of 65. At the same time, like other medical insurance members, they can also pay insurance premiums at their own expense to purchase medical insurance plans B and D.

According to the standard of 20 16, the maximum monthly premium for participating in Medicare A (hospitalization) plan is $465,438 +0 1. When using insurance, the deductible is $65,438+0,288.

(3) Immigrating to the United States for less than five years.

If you are a legal immigrant in the United States and hold a green card, but at the age of 65, you do not meet the standard of living for five years, then you cannot buy the federal government's Medicare medical insurance.

After emigrating to the United States, many China people took their parents to the United States for reunion. If you are over 65 years old when you come to the United States, have no working experience in the United States or have not paid the medical insurance tax for more than 10 years, you will not automatically qualify for medical insurance when you first immigrate to the United States.

In view of this situation, you can apply for a green card in the United States, buy travel medical insurance, and then enter the United States as a transition. After the travel medical insurance expires, in order to adapt to the new medical insurance law, you need to buy other medical insurance as a transition.