Finance/insurance
Health Insurance
Hi, I'm currently filing for I-944 and have a question about it. My health is currently completely fine and personally do not think I need a health insurance at the moment. But would not having one raise a red flag for my case? I was planning on adding myself on to my wife's insurance but we were planning on waiting a couple of years.
Would it be better to put myself on my wife's insurance now or would it be okay to add myself later? Or do I need to have my own?
Any advice would help. Thanks
Is it okay to file tax as married-separately?
Hi, guys. My wife and I have filed for a marriage green card and we just have our interview left. I have a debt with the irs so for last year's tax filing, I was advised to file as marriage-separately.
Would filing separately negatively impact our chances with the USCIS?
Building Credit
If my spouse has just received her EAD card and social security card, is it possible for her to be a joint user on my credit cards? I would like her to build credit and I heard that opening a joint account on an existing credit card will make her credit score go up much quicker. Is this true?
Or is it better to let her make a credit card on her own?
Thanks.
tax documents
Hi all
I am a permanent resident and filled 1-130 for my wife who lives outside of the Us.
we are waiting for descion about I-130.
we married on April 2021. should I file my 2021 tax as married jointly?
if yes, how can I get her tax identification number ?
F2A
Permanent resident filing for a spouse or child under 21
Total Days: 547 days
Case
2021-05-07
2022-11-05
I-130
547 Days
California Service Center: I-130
taxes !
hey I do have a question. so my husband and I got married last June. as we all know. tax season is coming soon. since we have been married for half the year last year - and we might get out case approved this week - should we file married filing together or filing separate? anyone any clue ? we are waiting for filing taxes until our interview. just wondering if someone had the same / similar situation. thanks
IRS tax before becoming permanent resident
Does IRS tax money from home country that I made before becoming a GC holder?
do I need to look into this further if my home country does not have tax treaty with the US?
Also, when it comes to tax filing, is having substantial presence considered the same thing as having a green card?
Do I have to pay taxes if I pass the substantial presence test?"
Job offer, no EAD
I got a job offer which is definitely a pleasure, but here's the problem. I applied for EAD 10 months ago, and there's still no progress in my case. I'm worried that it will affect me in any way for not having EAD. One thing I'm fortunate is that the job doesn't start in hurry. I have a few months left for the start. What can I do now?
Things I don’t get about American health insurance bills
Things I don’t get about American health insurance bills
This is something I saw on twitter that I thought would be helpful!!
1. Deductible
This is just money you pay. For a deductible of. 200, the patient pays up to. 200 at the beginning of a treatment, after which insurance rates apply. In the case of dental treatment, general treatment during the insurance cycle is also considered as one treatment.
For example if you get the treatment A, and the deductible is 200, and the insurance burden rate is 20 percent, if the cost is $500, you have to pay deductible 200+300*0.2=260.
I don’t get the reason deductibles exist.
2. Different terms for same meaning: for example Co-pay/co-insurance
Co-pay is what I pay and coinsurance is what the insurance company pays
3. PPO/HMO insurances
PPO applies insurance to whichever hospital I go to (no matter the level of the facility) on individual treatments. HMO (from what I understood) you meet up with the General Practitioner first then go to a higher hospital to get insurance. People prefer PPO and the cost is higher.
I think HMO is a program that the insurance companies created to delay the time that they give us money. (that’s how they make profit. Most systems that I don’t understand comes down to this reason)
The justification for this is the ‘general practitioner’ system. But to be honest, does it make sense to go to a general practitioner first when you get a rash on your skin then going to the dermatologist? You can’t go to the optometrist when you get eye problems. None of the GPs I’ve met (except for the dentists) have made clear and correct diagnosis for me. This is just another way they delay giving us money.
4. Pre-approval system
For unconventional or expensive treatments you need to get approval from the insurance company and your primary care physician. They are saying that they will only approve it when the company and the primary care physician deems that you need it. This is another way they delay giving us money (related film: Flawless)
I’ve had 10+ back and forth calls to get my medicine (just imagine the hassle this would be for a large scale surgery because it took so much time for one medication). There are quite a lot of treatments that need this procedure (not really sure though).
5. The annual list of medications they cover (this changes every year)
One time a whole set of diabetes medication just disappeared from the list (the diabetic patient has to get approved first or get another insurance). The list is too long so it also wastes paper.. It is a tool to avoid responsible behavior.. Most other countries on the list don't change much.. So the elderly have to struggle to find their medication on the list.
6. In-network/Out-of-network
The conditions for your insurance differ depending on whether it is in-network (your doctor joined the insurance) or out-of-network. It also differs on whether it’s an emergency or not. Some insurances, when it is not in-network, there is no out-of-pocket (the max amount the patient pays yearly, $2000-$3000 on average) or the premium rate is 0.
So it’s a must to search the in-network before going to the hospital and also call to make sure. This is why they go to a hospital that is 2 hours away instead of 30 minutes despite emergency situations (get rid of the thought that everyone can ride the ambulance, it is frustrating when it is not covered).
7. The fine you pay if you don’t have health insurance (GC holders & citizens only)
If you want people to have health insurance, other countries would make cheap insurance, but the US only fines you. (but this is cheaper than the insurance so many young people choose this route)
8. The medical fee varies too much depending on the region/hospital.
The worst case was when they charged the stuffed bear they brought to calm the patient down (they didn’t even give it, they took it back).
Lastly, one general hospital said that the inpatient ward is an orthopedic ward, so for other serious digestive-related diseases, they should be transferred back to the ward for treatment.
Closing comment: If the State undergoes medical reform, it would extend its average lifespan for 2 years. (it is 5 years shorter than Korea right now). I just saw the news that covid took 1.8 years off of the average lifespan of Americans.. It went back to 2003 level.
(check out the original tweet here https://twitter.com/hyeok__kim/status/1490742340624916481?s=21)