Tuesday, September 28, 2010

how can I get my child treated with my H1B's job-based health plan

how can I get my child treated with my H1B's job-based health plan?
I have a chance to come to work in U.S. under H1B visa and my employer offers the job-based health plans for my family. But I have a problem that I can't make up my mind yet. One of my children has got a serious disease called HLH and has being treated in my home country, Vietnam. I believe that it would give my child a much better chance to recover if she is treated in U.S. However, according to my research, with the pre-existing condition, there will be an exclusion period up to 12 or 18 months before my child can be covered by the health insurance. Without the health insurance, it would be very expensive, but I don't know if I can afford it or not. If you have any ideas about the treatment expenses in US or how to deal with insurance issues similar to my case, please share it with me. Thank you very much! Lam. Can my child join the health plan while still staying in Vietnam? If yes, she can go to the US later when the exclusion period is over. Is it ok? Is there any medical assessments required for checking the pre-existing condition?
Immigration - 3 Answers

Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
If you are even allowed to bring in your child with such a serious and debilitating disease, you will have to pay for all treatment out of your own pocket. Plan on it costing at least 10 times more than it does in Vietnam. On an H1-b salary, you probably cannot afford the medical care. Consider that your child may be better off continuing treatment with existing medical professionals already familiar with the child. Also, the stresses of moving to a foreign country and culture often exacerbate medical conditions - moving itself can prove deadly! It is quite likely better for your child's health and welfare to stay at home and continue treatment in familiar surroundings with familiar doctors. Any US trained physician in Vietnam will stay up-to-date on the latest research available & you are bound to find them in Vietnam without having to subject the child to long-distance travel, visa requirements, and more hassles and expenses.
2 :
You need to check with the company's HR department, but in most cases new hire employees and their families are not subject to exclusions for preexisting conditions. This is provided they sign-up with the plan upon being hired. Usually, it's only if you wait until a following open enrollment period (once a year) that proof of insurability is required.
3 :
I would see if you can continue the insurance you have in Vietnam here in the US especially for your sick child. If you can, I wouldn't cancel it at all. When you go back home they may not re-instate/re-insure him.

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Friday, September 24, 2010

No Answer from "Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service"

No Answer from "Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service"?
Two months ago i saw a nurse from a "Mental Health Service" facility, where i was told to go by a doctor for self injury. The nurse asked me questions, such as how often do i self harm (only if i was really upset), do i eat right (sometimes), if i had ever tried to commit suicide (thought about it), ect. He told me he was going to contact a college of his -a psychiatrist- and that he would contact me back. However, since that day something bad happened and i've resorted to self injuring every day even discovering new ways to do, i tried to kill myself twice and am now convinced that i'm fat after certain comments and have reduced eating... The counsellor i've been seeing -who is on holiday at the moment- hasn't really done anything to help me and there's been no word from the Health Service. What should i do? Should i contact them and tell them what i've been doing or just wait longer for a reply? Please help, i'm scared i'm starting to get out of control! (I've just turned 16.)
Mental Health - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Contact THEM, contact the nurse, contact your minister or someone like that. Contact your teachers, counselors -- anybody and EVERYbody until someone gets you some HELP NOW!
2 :
Where are your parents? Can you talk to them about it? If not, then call a suicide hotline. They'll be able to connect you with services in your area that are appropriate for you at this point in time. That nurse that you spoke with sounds like an air-head. Someone should've been contacted for you right away. Good luck.
3 :
When u need help or even just someone to talk to u should reach out and give them a call. Give someone a call. There is always someone out there who can get u in touch with a person qualified to talk to u in an emergency. It don't matter if it is the middle of the night, a weekend, or a holiday. Someone is always available somewhere. Go to the ER if that is what it takes. Don't harm yourself. There are people who need you and love u.
4 :
Most definitely you should contact the facility that you went to recently and as soon as possible. However because its the weekend there may not be anyone available to speak to immediately and it sounds as though you need some support and reassurance right now (that you're not going crazy) perhaps you have a close friend or relative that you trust enough to confide in? The way you're feeling right now you need someone to talk to and someone who will listen to you. There are telephone helplines if this isn't an option for you, also most major hospitals have doctors and nurses who are specialized in mental healt available who will see you 24/7 if the situation becomes too difficult for you. Remember you don't have to struggle on your own. Wishing you peace.

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Monday, September 20, 2010

Adding adopted child to family health insurance

Adding adopted child to family health insurance?
We are very close to finalizing adoption for a special needs child. He is currently on medicaid and will continue to receive that coverage. It is expected we will use that as a back-up to our own family policy. It has been suggested to us by someone in the adoption field that we may be better off NOT adding him to our policy because of the amount of care he may need going forward and the battles which may come between our insurer and medicaid. I am asking ONLY from the standpoint of avoiding hassles & potential confusion-I'd rather be spending my time with him in the coming years than on hold repeatedly fighting yet another broken system! We love this child and want what's best for him. We will get his needs met. Can we keep him off our family policy? Do you see any potential pitfalls with that scenario? Medicaid has been good at meeting his needs (weekly therapies and meds running over 500/month) and we have no plans to change his providers. Anyone dealt w/this before?
Adoption - 6 Answers

Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I think you need to speak with his caseworker about this and see their view. The only problem I can see is medicaid finding out you chose not to add him to your policy to use medicaid. Then down the road they could end up dropping him from medicaid and you will be unable to add him to your private insurance until open enrollment. You only have the 30-60 day window right after adoption to add him to your insurance.
2 :
you should just keep medicaid but i wanted to congrats on the new adoption espesially a special needs i i work for a special ed class and i would love to adopt a little boy or girl with down syndrome
3 :
Yes, we encountered the same situation. We had always planed on putting the kids on my husbands insurance once they were adopted. After finding out that they would still qualify for Medicaid and weighing the pros and cons we decided to have them use only Medicaid. Once you put him on your insurance it becomes the primary and Medicaid is the secondary. You will be paying co-pays and your usual prescription prices. You do not have to put him on your insurance. Medicaid will be his primary/only insurance. From the standpoint of avoiding hassles and potential confusion I would just keep him off of your insurance. Sometimes it is harder to find a provider and a bit embarrassing to use Medicaid, but the benefits out way that.
4 :
We did not have to add our adopted son to our insurance, so we chose not to for alot of the same reason you heard. .He currently has MIchild (medicaid). The only problem that we had is some Doctors only accept so many Medicaid recipients a month. I made an appointment with an allergist for my bio son and adopted son at the same time. They could get my bio child in almost immediately and the adopted child had to wait almost 3 months for an appointment. So you might also want to take that into consideration.
5 :
I was a licensed insurance agent for about 20 years and I am the adoptive mother of two special needs children. You may choose to add your child to your private or group health insurance and if you do so your policy will be the "Primary" insurance and it will be billed first. You will not lose the medicaid or state health insurance by adding the child to your policy. What will happen is any medical facility, doctor or other health need that IS covered by the medicaid or state insurance will be paid as medicaid will come in and cover any co payments. For example medications at the pharmacy our primary (employer provided group health insurance) Pays for the medication as it would in any ordinary situation. Our Health insurance requires us to pay either $10.00 (generics) or $25.00 co-payment for prescriptions. Medicaid covers the $10 or $25 and we do not pay for medications. But: Our daughters Psychiatrist does NOT accept Medicaid or state health insurance so--any co-payments his service requires we need to pay out of pocket... You can keep your child off your health insurance but, I would suggest NOT doing this. The truth is the depending on your child's special need--Medicaid is not always going to offer families the Best Care---having your private insurance as an option for children with special needs is an advantage for getting the services your child may need. Depending on only the publically funded system may cause you to have to use it the same as any other family on Medicaid--in some cases this would mean that you have to work with a County or State provided case worker and be part of the CPS system in order to access things like Mental Health.... With private insurance you will continue to have control over what happens and what care you get.... With Both you have both options and can use a combination of services depending on your child's needs.
6 :
There is no right or wrong to your question. You should do as you please. However, I do have experience in this area. Both my children qualify for Medicaid because of their family background. However, we did add our daughter to my husband's policy because the addition was so inexpensive. It turned out to be very fortunate, because the therapist we worked so hard to choose doesn't accept Medicaid. Our son's therapist is excellent for his needs, and she does accept Medicaid. But when we looked for therapists, we looked, based on the needs of our children, not on whether or not they accepted Medicaid. You might want to keep that in mind. In my experience, all adopted children need to benefit from lots of therapy--not just a little, but pretty much all their childhood and adolescence. Especially if they came from abusive or neglectful situations. Those children have wounds that require healing, and they deserve every bit of help we can give them. Let me also say that the wounds are not always obvioius. My daughter did a really good job of pushing her pain down inside until she hit puberty, and then she let her anger and pain out in inappropriate behavior.

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Obama's health care plan requires parents to pay for health insurance for their children or be fined

Obama's health care plan requires parents to pay for health insurance for their children or be fined?
In the debates between Obama and McCain, this issue was raised but Obama didn't go into detail about it. My question is will every American, or is it just children, be required to have health insurance or face being fined by the government? How much would the fine be? How will Obama prevent insurance companies from taking advantage of the enforced government fine and charging more for insurance? If people don't pay for the insurance, they have to face a fine resulting in poor people being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Politics - 12 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
No, just children. Poor people's children are covered under medicaid. Insurance companies couldn't 'take advantage' of the people, becuase under Obama's plan, you can choose to be covered under your current carrier OR choose to have the same insurance the government has. It would be a losing proposition for a private insurance company to take advantage of their customers.
2 :
Don't have children if you can't afford them. Then there might not be abortion.
3 :
if you have a job you will not have a choice to have insurance. the premiums will automatically be garnished from your check if you want insurance or not.
4 :
I dunno, we have healthcare in Illinois for all children and haven't really had any problems here.
5 :
I believe it is only for parents who do not provide health care coverage for their children since children are minors and cannot be responsible for their own health care. Under Obama's plan, their will be expanded coverage of federal health care programs. If private insurance is too expensive, parents can seek coverage under the federal programs.
6 :
It's a ridiculous socialist idea. That has no place in a capitalist democracy.
7 :
So avoiding insurance has become a criminal offense. Only a liberal would come up with crap like this in a free country. I spit on them and their claims of superiority. They are brain-dead and sub-human.
8 :
Has to be better than the $375 amonth i pay now!
9 :
If you really want to know you won't get in depth decent responses or information on these boards but you can see the proposal itself here, read it and you figure it out http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf
10 :
Not that I am against insurance to make myself clear but: Obama is a liberal and they never consider cosequences for their actions just the feeling of feeling good by tackling a perceived problem. They have cured poverty you know by creating well fare and unemployment payouts. Oh wait that has not happened. They created social security so Americans could retire and not have to worry about having enough money to live on. Oh wait that did not happen. They created cheap housing for low income families to live in as long as the parents were married but wait the illigitimacey rate for black children is 78% so the father can not live with his kid or kids if he not married. Liberals are idiots with good intentions but create bad policies that create an un-american solution to life's problems.
11 :
ok. I just want to clear up the poor children thing. medicaid is NOT free!!!!!!!! It is the father's responsibility to pay for it monthly or go to jail!! It goes through the attornny generals office. If I was a guy I'd much rather a fine then a go to jail card.
12 :
I agree, parents, children and poor people should be dependent countries. State must protect, the country needs help to their insurance

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

What are the risks for a child if the father did alot of ecstacy, pain pills and marijuana

What are the risks for a child if the father did alot of ecstacy, pain pills and marijuana?
he is 20 yrs old now, was an alchoholic by the age 10 and after he overcame that he did alot of dangerous drugs even LSD during his teenage years. he was only smoking marijuana, and had a hit or 2 of acid around the time of conception. what are the possible health concerns for the child?
Pregnancy - 4 Answers

Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I'm not 100% sure.. this could be for the mom not the dad.. but the child could end up being disabled, blind, deaf, or anything like that.. it's not uncommon for situations like that.. (not to jinx anything.... )
2 :
Probably nothing, honestly. The pot certainly wont' do anything... there's no real proof that the MOTHER smoking pot will even do any damage to an unborn baby... I'd say the only thing all the drugs would do is cause low sperm count/motility but if he was actually able to impregnante someone, the children would be just fine unless the mother was actually the one doing the drugs while pregnant.
3 :
I would recommend speaking with a doctor about this. No one here is going to know the odds and specific risks for sure, but there definitely are risks if he was doing LSD... that stays in your system for a LONG time!
4 :
I'd say the childs biggest concern is the dad himself.

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Can you afford health insurance for your children

Can you afford health insurance for your children?
Just curious how well people have studied their candidates on this election day... Were you aware that under Obama's health care plan, you would be required by federal law to find health coverage for your children? My question is... What parents out there would go without coverage for their children unless they could not afford it... And since his plan does nothing to actually lower the price of insurance or care (since both are private industries), what does this plan accomplish other than turning several million parents into criminals? Captian - that is what I was afraid of. You didn't study! Clinton's plan would have required EVERYONE to carry insurance... Obama's plan would require everyone to have their children covered... You voted for a guy and didn't even know what his plan was!
Politics - 5 Answers

Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You can if you get a job! (And don't waste your money on things like XboX, pay per view movies, wireless phones for 5 year old kids, etc.) Doh!
2 :
I don't know where you got your "facts" from. Clinton was going to require health care, not Obama. Obama's health care plans include lowering health care costs (same as McCain) and the gov't paying for expensive procedures. Government subsidization should effectively lower health care costs because insurance companies will save some money by not paying for these procedures. He plans to fund this by rolling back the Bush tax cuts from 2000.
3 :
Nope that's not true and yes it will be nice to have coverage because my kids right now are uninsured. Well almost anyway. Very high deductible and a coverage ceiling. Not to mention an HMO I can't stand.
4 :
Yes, I can afford insurance for myself and my children. People should consider that before having children. Also, if you can't afford what your employer supplies- you are able to get private policies which are generally much much cheaper. Parents should be required to have health insurance, food, housing etc for their children. In every state there is a state governed program for children to have health insurance if you can't afford it- even ones where you pay around 30 bucks every year for coverage. These parents just have to fill out the paperwork and qualify them. I never ever stand up for Obama, but this is a good policy for him to have. While the push should be on responsible parenting and doing it for themselves these parents need to at least fill out paperwork for the free stuff.
5 :
United Healthcare offers "kids only" health insurance plans for school age kids that provide children's coverage for sickness and accidents. Their plans are written through school districts and many private K12 schools throughout the US. Their health plan is designed to be affordable, at just $98 every 2 months. Check out www.k12studentinsurance.com to see if your child's school district (or private school) is participating. Click on the "Plans & Pricing" tab, enter the district name or private school name and the state in the search box and review the plans. If you donâ€™t find your childâ€™s school district, call UnitedHealthcare StudentResources at 888-282-5957 to see about adding it.

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Saturday, September 4, 2010

How does a physical care routine help to maintain good health for children

How does a physical care routine help to maintain good health for children?
I am doing a course and need to get this question answered!! But my head has gone blank! I need this finished by monday so please help me! Much appreciated, Skye.P.
Other - Health - 1 Answers

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1 :
healthy kids

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

How will the health care reform effect child support

How will the health care reform effect child support?
I haven't found, or really don't how to to look for answers on what the the new health care reform involves. My issue is that I'm a divorced dad that pays out the wazoo for awesome health care for my kids, court ordered for health and dental. Once this new reform is instilled, would I still be responsible for mandatory health care for my children? I'm not a deadbeat so I do pay, and in all honesty I don't really care, their my kids and I want them to be healthy. I'm worried that they will be thrown into a pool of crappy health care and won't be able to get to the doctor same day. To answer a couple of questions. As to show that I'm sincerely not concerned about benefits of this reform. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield dental and health. I have Aflac for life insurance with Gieco auto. My company pays for it, so there's no out of pocket expense. Just wanted to find out some details.
Government - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
In my case, (I pay health care for my child), I pay the insurance company and the amount I pay gets reported to CS and I pay less child support. i would imagine it will stay the same
2 :
no change dude.
3 :
Im not really sure of the answer but Im afraid of the same thing too. My hubby said that there arnt enough doctors to support this plan so when the kids do need to go to the doc they will have to wait much longer and the docs will be more rushed and not as personal. I haven't been following it... he has, so that's all I know. Just thought I would share that much with you.
4 :
I think that should be the least of your worries. Are you worried that you're going to lose your "awesome" health care? Why would that happen? You're the only person I've seen on here that describes their healthcare as "awesome" EDIT- Then you better hope like hell you don't get laid off.
5 :
What you really want to no is can you get free health care for your kids now. That way it would add a little extra income to your pocket. That is what you really mean. But I can't see them giving anything a way free to somebody that works for a living.
6 :
Child support has already been effected by other legislation, so health care reform cannot possibly effect it without the other legislation first stopping child support. Or do you mean "affect"? Education reform would be a great thing.

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