Insurance Helps Immigrant Dream of Health and Wealth

New immigrants to the United States are often at a loss when it comes to immigrant health insurance. They are either unaware of the need for health insurance, or are just confused by the many options available. To break it down simply, immigrant health insurance typically works like short-term health insurance.

Some plans, such as Inbound Immigrant, offers the option of renewing the policy for up to five years, while others, such as Immigrant Secure, can only be renewed for two years. The premium increases by age, and decreases by the deductible chosen.

Typical medical benefits include inpatient and outpatient care, ambulance services, prescription drugs (up to $100 in most cases), diagnostic tests, and chemotherapy or radiation therapy sessions. Plans usually also provide benefits for repatriation of remains, accidental death and dismemberment, and medical emergency evacuation.

Many of the plans geared toward immigrants are fixed benefit plans, which means that the plans offer benefits only up to a predetermined limit for each condition/situation. For example, the Immigrant Secure plan covers inpatient surgery for upto $3300 per surgery session, although the policy maximum benefit is $50,000. However, fixed benefit plans are affordable for the new immigrant.