No Insurance Under Parents or Separately

[ionicmuffin]

I am 21 and currently my parents are trying to acquire insurance. Sadly I recently dislocated my shoulder and have a bad feeling that I will need surgery because it almost popped out twice. Since I have no insurance aside from crisis care(sports injuries involving emergency services) I am now lost as to what I can do! I would like to work hard this summer, or at the least, be recovering from the surgery this summer rather than waiting it out and not knowing if it will pop out again. Is there a possibility I can acquire some kind of coverage for a time that will get me the surgery I need? What are my options? Technically I have not been diagnosed with the injury since I put the shoulder in myself and have not had an MRI to confirm damage. I know its a problem but I have no idea what to do. I live in Wyoming as a student.

 

[AllenChicago]

If you live in a Medicaid Expansion state, and your income is under $16,500 per year, you can enroll in Medicaid and get all the care you need without waiting.

Go to https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-state/by-state.html and click on your state to see if you qualify. Good luck with getting back to 100% good-health again, IonicMuffin.
ac

 

[Chazm]

So your parents are trying to acquire insurance after the January 31 deadline? Perfect

 

[tonyisme]

Ionicmuffin R U a foreign student on a Visa ?

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What were you doing that you dislocated your shoulder recently? Were you doing the sport? And what location did it happen on some private property someplace? Give me the details of how the dislocated shoulder occurred

 

[ionicmuffin]

I am a citizen of the USA since birth. I dislocated it while snowboarding at a ski resort. When it popped out I pushed it back in. It was a private ski resort. It was an anterior full dislocation. Anything else that I can add just let me know.

 

[Krball]

We run into this situation quite a bit and try to educate about insurance. Insurance is something you continually pay for to alleviate the financial stress should something come up that you cannot generally afford. Trying to obtain coverage only when an issue happens is not insurance, it is merely trying to get someone else to pay for your needs. Much like trying to get homeowners insurance after your home has burned or car insurance after you totaled your car, getting health insurance after a health issue is not how the system works.

There is also the misconception that one cannot get health care without insurance. This is not the case at all. You can always see a doctor, get an MRI or have surgery, you just need to pay for it. While we all understand that is easier said then done given the costs of these things, this is exactly why one should own insurance.

 

[tonyisme]

If your 21 and attending school doesn't your school offer insurance? Most do if they do not why did they not offer you insurance as a student? Most have school plans in place.
Sometimes the schools even offer foreign students insurance. Find out if your school offers a medical plan and find out when their open enrollment period is

 

[ionicmuffin]

My school is too small to offer insurance. I know how insurance works, at the moment my parents are working out finances for insurance, but at this point I would like to explore all my options before jumping into surgery if I need it. Since a labrum with a lesion would mean that I would need surgery I would expect to pay roughly 20k$ as an estimate.

My fathers work place offers insurance that the employees can purchase. Would I be mistaken in thinking that he could register me through his work and get me covered sooner than next sign-up season for individual insurance. I would imagine business insurance would take effect soon after purchasing because it would be difficult to wait a whole year for insurance to take effect and not have benefits for that whole year if someone came in during the month of February. The intent here is to get coverage for me that will continue so I no longer am not under coverage.

 

[tonyisme]

You might look for a knowledgeable health insurance agent in your area. Another option is to call the largest health insurance carriers in your area. For example if there's Anthem or Blue Cross or some other carrier ask them if they have a special election period from February 1st until February 29th and you want a major medical policy , and if you are permitted to enroll. That's the only kind of policy you want is a major medical. You do not want a short term medical plan.
If that doesn't work out then ask your father to sign up for his employer insurance as soon as possible and you can sign up under him as a dependent. I don't believe there will be any waiting periods of 12 months to cover your existing condition.