I’m a Canadian citizen who works as a software developer. A couple of months ago I suffered an ACL tear and I’m facing ACL reconstruction surgery.
Unrelated to that, I’ve been looking for a new job in my field. A position in the US is a real possibility, but one thing that I don’t know is how my knee would be handled if I were to move to the US with the injury. I would expect a software development position to come with good health coverage in the US, but I have no idea how a pre-existing injury would work. Anybody on the SDMB who could give me an idea what I might expect?
No clue on specifics, but Obamacare eliminated insurance exemptions for pre-existing conditions. Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t still be cheaper to go to Canada though. In fact, it almost certainly is, since you’re still a Canadian citizen. Even with generous insurance coverage, you’ll probably pay a couple grand out of pocket for knee surgery here, if not more. Could you fly/drive back to Canada for the procedure? How far away is your prospective job?
I assume the surgery is in the not too distant future, but if not make sure you know the rules for your provincial health insurance regarding extended absences. Just because you are a Canadian citizen doesn’t automatically mean you have provincial health coverage if you have been away for an extended period. See for example Health | Alberta.ca
Generally provincial health insurance covers you until you have been absent for three months and doesn’t cover you for your first three months when you move in. But I would strongly recommend that you get it done in Canada.
Not necessarily. We have great coverage through my husband’s work and have never paid more than a nominal copay for anything deemed necessary. Even my voluntary tubal ligation was like $100 copay. Insurance coverage in the US is so very different from company to company.
Even within the same company you can often choose among different plans with different tradeoffs on cost, choice etc. I could go anywhere from a high deductible health plan where I’m guaranteed to have to spend 7,500 out of pocket (but then VERY little afterward, and a much lower premium), to a plan where I’m paying more for premiums but my out of pocket on a single surgery would not be more than 500 dollars - but I’d have very strict limits on who I could see.
Some software positions are contract only, which means no benefits - i.e. you’d have to pay out of pocket for all your insurance coverage. That is easier now, I gather (including no pre-existing condition limitations) but still pretty pricey.
If you can get the surgery dealt with in Canada, go for it. I don’t know what the wait times would be in your part of the country, for something non-urgent, so of course it might well not be feasible. Of course you don’t want to be moving immediately post-op either!!