Ask HN: Moving to the USA with a chronic health condition

2 pointslobe10y ago5 comments

I am an Australian university student studying Software Engineering. I was scheduled be over in the USA completing my final semester on exchange right now, however 6 months ago I fell quite sick, and after 3 horrible months I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease. The good news is that with proper treatment prospects are good and life should return to normal. The bad news is that most people diagnosed are stuck with it for life, and some of the treatments can be expensive (mid $X,000 per month) if the government / insurance doesn't help out.

When I am done with uni I want to move to the USA on an E3 visa (basically H1B for Australians) to take advantage of the work opportunities and satisfy my sense of adventure. If I were to do so, assuming I were to work for a large employer (e.g. Google / FB):

1. Am I correct in assuming health insurance is provided by my employer? 2. Am I at a disadvantage already having a potentially expensive chronic condition? 3. What happens if I move jobs / become a freelancer / join or start a startup?

Apologies if these are straightforward questions, however from an outsiders perspective trying to use Google to find the answers has left me even more confused. I figure that there must be many people on HN who have been through this themselves.

As much as I want to move to the USA, being shackled by health insurance makes me reconsider given I don't have any of these problems in Australia. I am currently struggling to differentiate between the truth and the horror stories of the USA's health system

Ask HN: Moving to the USA with a chronic health condition

2 pointslobe10y ago5 comments

5 comments

5 comments · 2 top-level

DrScump10y ago· 2 in thread

This is unrelated to your primary question (already well-answered by byoung2), but you may also want to look at recent research in Crohn's treatment, such as the use of fecal transplants.

e.g.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3819561/

lobeOP10y ago

Thanks for the link. I'm excited that Crohns seems to be an area with promising active research so we might have it solved in the next few decades. For me personally, as my condition is only mild / moderate, I believe I should be able to get it under control without the more experimental methods, although will always consider them when appropriate. Between my father (who is a doctor) and my mother (who is ... open minded), no potential treatment seems to go unanalysed in my household.

andersthue10y ago

I myself has been doing Taoist Tai Chi for 10+ Years and I remembered this video http://youtu.be/7PSjQAscVL8 that a Chrohn's sufferer made about how the tai chi had helped him.

byoung210y ago· 1 in thread

  1.  Health insurance is covered by most employers for full time salaried workers.


  2. Preexisting conditions and chronic conditions are not an issue since Obamacare was launched. 


  3. If you are not covered by a company plan you can get the same group rate using an exchange.

Immigrants are covered too http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-immigrants/

lobeOP10y ago

That pretty much answers it. I had no idea about the exchange, which alleviates most of my concerns. Thanks a lot

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