Foreign fiancées of United States citizens that move to the United States usually receive a K1 visa. K1 visas allow these fiancées to remain in the United States even though they are not considered United States citizens. Finding health insurance for these immigrants is crucial because of the risk associated with not signing up for health insurance can be great.
However, only US citizens and immigrants with permanent residents or green cards can sign up for health insurance. Immigration does not qualify for sign up through the Special Enrollment Period, and the employers of these immigrants’ spouses are not allowed to add their fiancée to their insurance packages.
Luckily, there is an option for health insurance for K1 visa holders even if they don’t have their green card or proof of permanent residence: The International Major Medical Plan (IMMP). This plan provides short-term health insurance to immigrants for up to a year. The issue with this coverage is that it is not very extensive. It does not have a PPO network and is unable to be extended for more than 11 months.
Another option for K1 visa holders is to get on their spouse’s health insurance. To be eligible for this type of insurance, you must have already been married. This means that this coverage is unlikely to happen unless you get married during the first few days that you are in the United States.
One other option for K1 visa holders is to purchase temporary visitor’s coverage. Visitor’s coverage covers immigrants like K1s for up to twelve months. This coverage is more extensive than the IMMP) but less extensive than the coverage that most employers in the United States can enter.
Patriot America® Plus
Patriot Travel Insurance Quotes
Short-term travel medical insurance for non-U.S. citizens
- Short-term travel medical coverage
- Coverage for individuals, groups, and their dependents
- Maximum Limits from $50,000 to $500,000
- Deductible options from $0 to $2,500
- Available in daily and monthly rates
- Renewable up to 24 months
- Freedom to seek treatment with hospital or doctor of your choice
- Universal Rx pharmacy discount savings
- 24 hour secure access from anywhere in the world to manage your account at any time
- Graduating seniors trips
- College students studying abroad
- Foreign au pairs and nannies
- Families sponsoring exchange students
- International vacationers
- Relatives visiting from overseas
- Recently arrived immigrants
Patriot America Plus provides coverage for non-U.S. citizens traveling to the United States. The plan offers a complete package of international benefits available 24 hours a day to individuals, families, and groups of five or more travelers. The plan provides a wide range of plan maximum limits and deductible options, and it is available for a minimum of 5 days up to a maximum of two years, in accordance with the terms of the Certificate of Insurance.
Additionally, the plan offers excellent benefits and services to meet your global travel needs. You have access to international, multilingual customer service centers, claims administrators who process claims from all over the world, handling virtually every language and currency, and 24 hour access to highly qualified coordinators of emergency medical services and international treatment.
National General - PPO Health Plans
Our Rating: ★★★★★
National General is an insurance company probably better known for their auto insurance. What most people don't know is that they also offer some of the best "short term" or "catastrophic" health insurance on the market with the option to customize your plans to buy the amount coverage within your budget as needed.
The bottom line: Because National General offers longer term options, a national network PPO, competitive lifetime limits, a $50 urgent care copay AND accepts K1 visa holders , National General is a stand-out insurance provider for K1 Visa holders that want more comprehensive coverage than international insurance plans provide. Few short term or catastrophic plans are able to offer these level of benefits at an affordable price.
Apply Now - National General PPO
More About National General
Plan Designs
Coverage Length
The amount of time you can have a plan will vary by state, but in most cases you can get covered for up to 36 months.
What's Covered?
Short Term Medical insurance, as its name implies, isn’t meant to be a long-term solution. While it covers some medical expenses, it doesn’t cover everything. Make sure you take a look at what you need your health insurance to do for you and compare it to the benefits provided through Short Term Medical.
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Doctor visits, urgent care, ambulance service and emergency room care |
Outpatient prescription medications, eyeglass prescriptions and vision therapy |
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Diagnostic testing, mammograms, cancer testing, radiation therapy and Chemotherapy |
Normal pregnancy, or diagnosis and treatment of infertility |
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Surgery, inpatient and outpatient hospital benefits, and hospital confinement benefits |
Any medical expenses resulting from pre-existing conditions |
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Physical therapy, skilled nursing facility benefits and home health care |
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Child immunizations, transplant benefits and more |
The examples provided are from larger lists of covered and non-covered services. For the complete listing of non-covered services, please refer to the Limitations and Exclusions pages in the attached brochure.
Patriot America Plus FAQ
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Am I eligible for the Patriot America Plus Plan? The Patriot America Plus Plan is available for any non-US Resident, visiting the USA for a short period of time. It is available for US citizens, and Non US citizens who live outside USA permanently, and are traveling to the USA for a short time. |
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What Information do I need to buy the Plan? You would need the names, dates of birth, passport numbers of the visitors, and a valid credit card to buy the plan. |
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When will I receive my ID card? You can print out your ID card from your confirmation e-mail and it will be used as proof of insurance. While filling out the online application, if you select online fulfillment you will not receive anything in the mail (paper mail), but you will receive confirmation in your e-mail. If you select paper mail/snail mail then you will receive the ID card in the mail within 5-10 business days. You can also retrieve your ID card using MyIMG: Get My ID Card |
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Can I renew the plan, if I plan to stay longer? Yes, if you buy the plan initially for more than 30 days, you can renew the policy. You would need to renew the plan at least two days before the policy expires. There would be an extra $5 renewal charge. |
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Can I cancel the plan, if I plan to go back earlier? Yes, you can cancel and get a refund for the Patriot America Plus Plan, if you need to go back earlier than plan. The following rules apply: 1) You can get refund back, only if you do not need to visit the doctor/provider while the policy is in force. 2) You can get the refund back only on a full month basis. So if you have less than a month of coverage left in the policy, you would not get any refund back. If you have one month and 20days coverage left in the policy, you would get get the refund for only the full month, and not the extra 20 days. 3) $50 cancellation fee applies. 4) If there is any claim on file, you would not get any refund back. |
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Are pre-existing conditions covered by the Patriot America Plus Plan? Pre-existing conditions are not covered by Patriot America Plus Plan. However the Patriot America Plus Plan covers for an acute onset of pre-existing conditions for people up to 69 years of age. It is up to the attending physician to determine if a particular medical situation is related to pre-existing condition or not, and also if it would be considered as an acute onset or not. Please check the Description of Coverage for more information about what is considered as acute onset of pre-existing condition. |
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What is an acute onset of pre-existing condition? An acute onset is a sudden unexpected outbreak or recurrence of a Pre-existing Condition which occurs spontaneously and without advance warning either in the form of Physician recommendations or symptoms, is of short duration. It has to be an acute medical condition that requires immediate medical attention. More conditions and restrictions apply. Please check the Description of Coverage to understand what is covered under acute onset of pre-existing condition. |
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What's the Rx Discount Card that comes with this plan? This is a discount savings program available to every certificate holder of the Patriot travel plans. This program allows card members to purchase prescriptions at one of over 35,000 participating pharmacies in the U.S. and receive the lower of 1) Universal Rx contract price or 2) the pharmacy regular retail price. This discount program is not insurance coverage. It is purely a discount program to purchasers of the Patriot travel plans. Use of the discount card does not guarantee that prescribed medication is covered under the insurance benefit plan. Retrieve your Rx Discount card on imglobal.com: Get Rx Discount Card |
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What is the Sports riders options? Adventure Sports are usually not covered in travel medical policies. With additional premium you can purchase the optional Adventure Sports Rider Coverage. It is available for those up to the age of 64. The following activities are covered to the lifetime maximum amounts listed below as long as they are engaged solely for leisure, recreation, or entertainment purposes: abseiling, BMX, bobsledding, bungee jumping, canyoning, caving, hang gliding, heli-skiing, high diving, hot air ballooning, inline skating, jet skiing, jungle zip lining, kayaking, mountain biking, parachuting, paragliding, par-ascending, piloting a non-commercial aircraft, rappelling, rock climbing or mountaineering (ropes and guides to 4500m from ground level), scuba diving (to 50m), skydiving, snorkeling, snow boarding, snowmobiling, snow skiing, spelunking, surfing, trekking, whitewater rafting (to Class V), and wildlife safaris, and windsurfing. All such activities must be carried out in strict accordance with the rules, regulations and guidelines of the applicable Governing Body or Authority of each such activity. The maximum coverage for Adventure sports rider for different age groups are the following:
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What is Evacuation Plus Rider? Medical Evacuation is provided for only Emergency life threatening medical emergency in the Patriot America Plus Plan. This optional rider can be purchased with additional premium. It would be available to insured persons, up to 64 years of age. It provides coverage for medical evacuations for sudden and unexpected medical conditions that are non life-threatening, and where hospitalization is medically necessary. It also offers coverage for evacuations as a result of a natural disaster. This rider must be purchased for a minimum purchase of 3 months regardless of the minimum number of days being traveled. |
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Which doctor or hospital can I go to? You can go to any doctor or hospital of your choice. If you would like, you can choose to go in the PPO network for Patriot America Plus, which is the FirstHealth PPO Network. You can in this Provider Directory. |
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How do I use this insurance? Once you purchase an insurance policy online, a confirmation notice accompanied by a virtual card will be e-mailed to you. You would need to take a print out of the virtual card as proof of insurance and keep it with you at all times during your stay abroad. The confirmation email also comprises information pertaining to the policy with supporting URLs for further reference. You will receive hard copies of all the necessary documents along with the original insurance card by regular mail at a later date to the address stated on your policy at the time of purchase. Seeking Medical HelpMedical attention to sick individuals is prioritized in the United States, generally based on the kind of illness and physical condition of the patient. There are basically three ways to seek help in the event of a medical problem.
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How do I file a claim?  Contact Information for IMG Global Insurance PlansTo
Check Status
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When I buy this plan, do I need to make the full payment at once or do I have the option of paying it on a monthly basis? Based on the desired coverage length you have selected, you have to make the full payment at once. Since this plan is renewable you can renew it anytime you would like to before the policy expires. There is a renewable fee of $5 that associated with the renewal. |
Marketplace Loophole
Just to add to this - you can apply for health insurance via the Marketplace before you have your NOA1 and SSN. You can do this by calling the Marketplace and asking for locations where you can do a manual verification of identity (you can't apply online without SSN at least). You will meet with a counselor for free and once they have checked your identity, you can pick your plan with them. You're covered pretty much immediately, and they will then give you three months to send in the documentation proving your legal status (AOS NOA1), your SSN, and you eligibility for tax credit, if any.
This made me realize I most likely could've applied the day I got here, before I had even applied for AOS, as I did not have to show any immediate proof of legal status in order to apply and be covered. Remember though that the cutoff date is the 15th every month (at least here in NY), so if you apply before the 15th you will be covered from the 1st of the following month. If you apply after the 15th, you will only have coverage from the 1st of the month after the following month.
Comments
4 comments
Hi Ryan Kennelly, can I get medical insurance for her after get marry with my wife ? I mean we are waiting for green card and ssn so the only document that we have is the case number
Yes, you can.
You can also get a PPO medical plan from National General that does not require a social security number, you can view those plans here
Hello Ryan,
With the new Trump Public Charge rule now that requiring all Immigration to the US now required Health Care Coverage. Can this be use as a proof for her to have Healthcare Coverage when entering the USA?
Still waiting on the Interview date, but now with the new rule it required to show proof what date she will have healthcare when entering the USA. Can this be use to buy her Healthcare if I buy the plan for around 6 months.
Thank You
Yes, these plans do meet the new immigration law insurance requirements and eligible to be purchased for a spouse or fiance.
To schedule an appointment to go over your situation, you can do so here.
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