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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    13

    Default Affidavit of Support and Healthcare

    I'm a US citizen and I'm planning to sponsor my mother for permanent residency. She's in her late 60s and I'm hoping she'll be able to get onto my state's public health plan. However, if I recall correctly, legal permanent residents are not allowed to receive any form of public assistance (i.e. the "public charge" rule); in the event that they do, the government can require the person who signed the affidavit of support to pay back any benefits received. In practice, then, this would seem to suggest that the only healthcare route for legal permanent residents is private health insurance, or a health plan offered by an employer, neither of which is possible in my mother's case.

    So basically my question is: if I sign the affidavit and she somehow gets onto the state health plan, am I on the hook for any health benefits she receives? Or is there perhaps an exception to the public charge rule for people in her situation, i.e. a senior who cannot afford private health insurance?

    Thanks in advance for any light you can shine on this one!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Affidavit of Support and Healthcare

    There is no exception.

    In fact, the sponsorship is actually intended to prevent the exact type of situation you are describing.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1,695

    Default Re: Affidavit of Support and Healthcare

    If you cannot afford to pay for her health insurance and care, you should not bring her here to mooch off the US taxpayers. You and she are CHOOSING for her to live in the US. Expect to pay for it. In my state she could be covered by a state sponsored high risk pool; some premiums were as much as $4,000 per month based on some age and gender combinations. I hope you have a really well paying job.

    By the way, many US citizens in their late 60s work to pay their bills. <may, like my spouse have worked in the US for over 40 consecutive years and has several more to go before he can retire. She can GET A JOB and support herself.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
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    35,894

    Default Re: Affidavit of Support and Healthcare

    I have to agree - it's not up to the US taxpayers to fund Mom's healthcare.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    13

    Default Re: Affidavit of Support and Healthcare

    Quote Quoting Dogmatique
    View Post
    There is no exception.

    In fact, the sponsorship is actually intended to prevent the exact type of situation you are describing.
    This document (PDF) appears to contradict that to at least some extent. On page 11 it states (emphasis mine):

    When a person or family seeks to enter the U.S. for the first time or seeks to change their residency status, the federal government considers if they have been or will be a “public charge.” If the individual or family has relied on the government to meet immediate needs, such as cash assistance, their application may not be accepted or their green card may be allowed to expire.

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states that the following programs are not considered to be a public charge:

    • Medicaid and other health insurance and health services (other than support for long-term institutional care like a nursing home)
    • Children’s Health Insurance Program
    Assuming the state of Oregon is stating this with sufficient competence regarding knowledge of USCIS rules and regs, it would seem that there are exceptions and that the key issue, for this particular case, would be the definition of "other health insurance and health services".

    EDIT - I also found this USCIS page, which states:

    Q. What is a public charge and when does it apply?

    A. For purposes of determining inadmissibility, “public charge” means an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.
    As I read that, being accepted onto a state-funded health insurance plan does not make one a public charge. Likewise, receiving benefits from such a plan doesn't make one a public charge, so long as those benefits do not rise to the level of "institutionalization for long-term care". This would seem to be consistent with the quote from the Oregon Health Plan above.

    Anyone agree/disagree with my interpretation?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1,695

    Default Re: Affidavit of Support and Healthcare

    It is dependent on what the STATE chooses to pay for in Medicaid. Some states are more generous. Some refuse to cover permanent residents until they have has their green cards for 5 years.

    Remember that eligibility for Medicaid depends on HOUSEHOLD resources. This includes savings. If you claim her on taxes and she resides in your household, your income and resources likely count. Recall also, that you could be required to support her to 125% of the poverty level in her own household and you should plan to do so for the rest of her life.

    My high risk pool is a state sponsored program. It is NOT free. It also has a waiting period during which one must be uninsured in order to qualify. She MIGHT qualify for emergency Medicaid. In addition, people on Medicaid in my state have a very hard time finding a doctor and hospital willing to take on another money losing patient for non-emergency care. Many doctors are not taking new Medicare patients who are more desirable than Medicaid patients because at least they have made some contribution to the US where you mother has done nothing.

    She can GET A JOB with health care. She should be able to do janitorial or personal or child care work or be a people greeter.

    If you cannot afford to pay her bills and she does not have the resources to do so on her own, she should remain in her home country. You are placing your family's financial future at risk. If you have nothing to lose, you are actually better off than if you have worked hard and saved for your future because you are expected to support her out of YOUR resources and not those of the state.

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