# Required to carry health insurance now **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 23, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500 "2010-03-23T17:24:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/1 "2010-03-23T17:24:44Z")
So with the passage of this new law Americans will be required to carry health insurance. Does this apply to Americans that do not live in the USA? I have UK-issued health insurance that is valid everywhere except the USA. Since I am only in the USA for very short visits… am I going to have to buy US-issued health insurance that I can never use? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/2 "2010-03-23T18:15:02Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/3 "2010-03-23T18:20:02Z")
At the risk of being overly conniving (and not very helpful, at that), the bill apparently allows religious exemptions—so if all else fails, you could just claim that Allah forbids you, or something. I doubt they’d check THAT hard. 😉 Seriously, though, I’d like to hear a detailed answer, too, if just out of curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/4 "2010-03-23T19:09:08Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I have UK-issued health insurance that is valid everywhere except the USA. Didn’t you buy the UK insurance because you could not buy insurance from a U.S. company? Sounds like they’d have to take you now, if you were so inclined. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/5 "2010-03-23T19:34:38Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > No. Source? ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/6 "2010-03-23T19:47:45Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > So with the passage of this new law Americans will be required to carry health insurance. No they won’t. If you don’t have insurance you have to pay a tax. And if you have UK-issued health insurance, that’s health insurance, so you won’t have to pay the penalty. (As an aside, do you have to pay US income tax or UK income tax, or both?) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/7 "2010-03-23T20:15:21Z")
You’re not covered in the US so you would need an insurance rider of some kind for the brief visits. If by brief visit you mean a couple of days of vacation/business then look at travel insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/8 "2010-03-23T20:26:41Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Source? The law says: > [@](#): > > ``` > `(4) INDIVIDUALS RESIDING OUTSIDE UNITED STATES OR RESIDENTS OF TERRITORIES- Any applicable individual shall be treated as having minimum essential coverage for any month-- > > `(A) if such month occurs during any period described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 911(d)(1) which is applicable to the individual, or > > `(B) if such individual is a bona fide resident of any possession of the United States (as determined under section 937(a)) for such month. > > ``` Section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code says that different tax laws apply to these two types of individuals: > [@](#): > > (A) a citizen of the United States and establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that he has been a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period which includes an entire taxable year, or > (B) a citizen or resident of the United States and who, during any period of 12 consecutive months, is present in a foreign country or countries during at least 330 full days in such period. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/9 "2010-03-23T20:37:09Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > So with the passage of this new law Americans will be required to carry health insurance. > > Does this apply to Americans that do not live in the USA? > > I have UK-issued health insurance that is valid everywhere except the USA. Since I am only in the USA for very short visits… am I going to have to buy US-issued health insurance that I can never use? Canadian health insurance (provincial Medicare plans) covers anything anywhere - up to the amount the plan would reimburse local doctors or hospitals for the same service. TO avoid going bankrupt over the differebnce if sick while visiting the USA, travel insurance (like Blue Cross) is strongly advised. Another benefit of travel insurance is that they cover a medical flight to get you home - presumably in a serious situation, you may miss your return flight or be unable to travel regular flights. It’s cheaper for Blue Cross to pay a charter flight home ASAP and leave you with your local medical services, than to keep paying US hospital rates. Lots of local stories of uninsured older people who took a chance with no coverage to winter in the south. One guy I know was found in his trailer in Arizona, where he ahd had a stroke. His friend drove 48 hours to get him back to Canada rather than turn him over to a hospital in the US. The guy was NOT that rich. Of course most travel insurance has a cap like 60 or 90 days per trip, so it doesn’t become a substitute for real health insurance. Where thing would get interesting is if it appears you are staying in the USA - no return plans, open-ended tick, that sort of thing. I’m sure some authorities somewhere would begin investigating your status. Don’t be surprised if they start datamining border customs records to match people claiming non-resident exemptions. BTW - what do you mean? Is National Health invalid for US bills, or just doesn’t pay enough? Or doesn’t pay any foreign bills? As I understand it, as a UK citizen, I could just move there and sign up for National Health right away even though I have never actually lived in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/put_down_the_sabre)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/required-to-carry-health-insurance-now/533500/10 "2010-03-24T02:08:43Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > \ > > BTW - what do you mean? Is National Health invalid for US bills, or just doesn’t pay enough? Or doesn’t pay any foreign bills? As I understand it, as a UK citizen, I could just move there and sign up for National Health right away even though I have never actually lived in the UK. The NHS is _not_ an insurance plan – NHS treatment is free in NHS hospitals (even when those NHS hospitals are subcontractors etc). With some EU related exceptions, the NHS won’t pay for you to get treated elsewhere. pdts