“You cannot qualify for Covered California health insurance until you are a full-time resident,” you are told. “While you are a K-1 applicant, you cannot get California’s subsidized health care,” they insist. “Instead, buy travel insurance until such time as you get your Green Card,” they advise.
It turns out that all of the above is not true. You can qualify for Covered California subsidized health insurance even while you are on a K-1 visa. But you have to know what you are doing and you have to reach out and ask for help from an insurance professional. We utilized the services of Lora Moore who runs Health Insurances Services in San Diego. She was tenacious. More importantly, she was successful in getting health care coverage.
Specifically, she relied upon the I-94 Arrival/Departure Record. It’s proof of legal entry and current immigration status. The arrival/departure number on that form was the key. Once she was able to get a Covered California official to enter that code and establish the immigration status as “a non-citizen with an approved visa petition, who has a pending application for adjustment to LPR status”, Covered California accepted the healthcare application and permitted enrollment.
Our takeaway: It takes persistence, an insurance professional and using the strategy described above to secure subsidized healthcare coverage in California. Contrary to the naysayers, it can be done.