Hi, I’m looking for an inexpensive health insurance for my mother who is a permanent resident and our dependent. She has a SSN, but never worked in US. Also, I’d like to get her a credit card, but she has no credit history. Has anybody dealt with similar problems?
4 Comments Already
April 25th, 2010 @12:50 am
Health insurance, the only plan I have seen is Inbound Immigrant, it will cover her till she qualifies to buy into Medicare.
For a credit card, you have two options:
1) open a bank account and get a debit card
2) get her a subsidary credit card on your account
Both of these things will help her build a credit history and she will be able to get a regular credit card in a couple of years.
April 25th, 2010 @1:13 am
When it comes to health insurance, she can get health insurance from Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Health Net or any other insurance carrier if she is under 65 years old. Just visit a local agent or go online to get a quote with her date of birth and zip code.
Once she is 65 or older, she will have to enroll in Medicare and since she never worked in USA, she will have to pay a monthly fee for it (around $600, not cheap).
When it comes to credit card, there is a card called Secured Visa Card from Bank of America. It is a card designed for people with no credit. The card has an annual fee of $29, low limits, and you must make a $100 deposit as collateral.
I used this card myself when I came to US.
Good luck!
April 25th, 2010 @1:19 am
healthplans.bebto.com – here is my health insurance plan. As I remember they can provide such a service.
After 5 years she can get Medicare. However, because she never paid into the system her premium will be very high. Medicare Part A. will be about $450 (2009) PER MONTH and Part B. about $95 (2009) PER MONTH.
People who have paid into the system for 40 quarters (10 years) get Part A. for free and Part B. for about $95 a month.
Medicare Part A typically pays for your inpatient hospital expenses and Medicare Part B typically covers your outpatient health care expenses including doctor fees.
She can’t get a credit card without a credit history. To get a credit history you can loan her $5,000. She can deposit the $5,000 in a CD and then borrow $5,000 from the bank and use the CD as collateral. The bank will report her payment history each month to the credit bureaus. After a year she’ll have a credit history that’s good enough to start looking for a credit card with a low limit.