How to sign up for Medicare

I need some clarity here. If an employee from Canada is working for a firm in America, has their work permit and residency approved, and is fully covered by Social Security and Medicare, can their spouse and children access health insurance through them if they don't have US residency? I’m assuming the answer is no, based on what I read on the Medicare website, but I want to hear your thoughts. Also, what about child benefits? Do they actually qualify for those?

I’m looking for some clarity here. If an employee from Canada is working for a firm in America—let's say they have their work permit and residency sorted, and they're fully paying into Social Security and Medicare—can his wife and children be covered under his health insurance if they don't hold US residency? I assume the answer is no, based on what I read on the Medicare website, but I'd value your perspective. Also, what about child benefits? Do they actually qualify for those?

Betty King7 said:I’m looking for some clarity here. If an employee from Canada is working for a firm in America—let's say they have their work permit and residency sorted, and they're fully paying into Social Security and Medicare—can his wife and children be covered under his health insurance if they don't hold US residency? I assume the answer is no, based on what I read on the Medicare website, but I'd value your perspective. Also, what about child benefits? Do they actually qualify for those?

It is highly probable that they all hold temporary status rather than permanent residency, which means they fall under the provisions of the Health insurance law for foreigners in America. In practical terms, this typically implies that an adult dependent who isn't otherwise insured through employment would face costs of roughly $450-$167 per month, while children could be covered under that same individual for a slightly higher monthly fee. In these instances, one really ought to examine international social security agreements, as the regulations shift significantly depending on whether the individuals are from the European Union or elsewhere.

Regarding child benefits, a foreign national is generally only eligible if they have maintained permanent residency for more than three years or if they have obtained American citizenship. There is also eligibility for those with asylum seeker status or subsidiary protection. 😁

urbanwalker72 said:It is highly probable that they all hold temporary status rather than permanent residency, which means they fall under the provisions of the Health insurance law for foreigners in America. In practical terms, this typically implies that an adult dependent who isn't otherwise insured through employment would face costs of roughly $450-$167 per month, while children could be covered under that same individual for a slightly higher monthly fee. In these instances, one really ought to examine international social security agreements, as the regulations shift significantly depending on whether the individuals are from the European Union or elsewhere.

Regarding child benefits, a foreign national is generally only eligible if they have maintained permanent residency for more than three years or if they have obtained American citizenship. There is also eligibility for those with asylum seeker status or subsidiary protection. 😁

You clearly misunderstood my point. If only one person is employed and holds temporary residency while the spouse and children remain in Canada, I don't believe they can access free healthcare in America if they lack local residency. One doesn't just "get" residency on a whim, does one? But their interest isn't in paying premiums; their goal is to secure free healthcare through the employed individual, much like our own domestic employees do.

Betty King7 said:You clearly misunderstood my point. If only one person is employed and holds temporary residency while the spouse and children remain in Canada, I don't believe they can access free healthcare in America if they lack local residency. One doesn't just "get" residency on a whim, does one? But their interest isn't in paying premiums; their goal is to secure free healthcare through the employed individual, much like our own domestic employees do.

It seems to me that under these specific circumstances, the spouse would be required to pay for Medicare as a foreign national, and the children would then be covered under her, meaning all associated costs would be billed to her Social Security number. Even if it isn't their preferred outcome, one must simply follow the existing regulations.

How long does it usually take for everything to show up in the system? I just landed a temp gig and handed all my paperwork to my boss three days ago, but I checked my SSA portal and still don't see anything official. Should I just hang tight until early next week, or should I hit up my boss to see if they actually filed the paperwork?

Sometimes it can take much longer than a week or so, depending on how backed up things get over at the Social Security Administration...

So, my business officially kicks off on Saturday, December 1st, 2018.
I was wondering—can I just head over to the Social Security Administration on Monday, December 3rd, to get everything sorted? Or am I supposed to have it all wrapped up by Friday, November 30th, since that’s the last actual workday before the business technically starts?
Thanks in advance if anyone's dealt with this kind of thing before or knows the drill...

You could probably get it done by Monday 😉

Has anyone here actually dealt with registering an employee from Canada? How exactly do you report them for Social Security under the "foreign national employee" section for the insurance base? And what’s the deal with filling out the JOPPD form for this?

Betty King7 said:Has anyone here actually dealt with registering an employee from Canada? How exactly do you report them for Social Security under the "foreign national employee" section for the insurance base? And what’s the deal with filling out the JOPPD form for this?

We ran into this exact situation last year when we hired someone from Canada, and even though we had all their valid work authorization paperwork ready, we filed them under the foreign national code, only to have the agent at the IRS reject the filing and insist we just list them under the standard employee code... ever since then, we've had two more cases just like it, and both times we simply used the regular code and everything went through perfectly fine without any hiccups...

Betty King7 said:Has anyone here actually dealt with registering an employee from Canada? How exactly do you report them for Social Security under the "foreign national employee" section for the insurance base? And what’s the deal with filling out the JOPPD form for this?

Use the "foreign national" insurance base. I've had to do this 5 or 6 times already just this year. For the M1P attachment, just upload a scan of their work permit—not their ID, specifically the actual work permit.

The JOPPD stays exactly the same as if they were a local worker; once they have a work permit, they'll have a residence and a Social Security number here in the States. Just don't forget to pull their tax withholding info through the IRS website.

Betty King7 said:I need some clarity here. If an employee from Canada is working for a firm in America, has their work permit and residency approved, and is fully covered by Social Security and Medicare, can their spouse and children access health insurance through them if they don't have US residency? I’m assuming the answer is no, based on what I read on the Medicare website, but I want to hear your thoughts. Also, what about child benefits? Do they actually qualify for those?

I dealt with something almost identical recently. Yes, you can.
Here is what you need:

Certification from the Ministry of Interior of Canada confirming the wife and children reside in Canada
Certification from the Department of Homeland Security confirming the wife and children DO NOT have residency in the US
A marriage certificate from Canada issued within the last 6 months
A copy of the wife's ID
Birth certificates for all the children

Take all of that to the local Medicare office (the one in Washington, D.C. is at 37 Branimirova St) and Medicare will coordinate with the Canadian health authorities to ensure everyone is covered under the father.

I just figured this all out recently after calling the Medicare info line regarding individual insurance.

Jack Rodriguez85 said:Use the "foreign national" insurance base. I've had to do this 5 or 6 times already just this year. For the M1P attachment, just upload a scan of their work permit—not their ID, specifically the actual work permit.

The JOPPD stays exactly the same as if they were a local worker; once they have a work permit, they'll have a residence and a Social Security number here in the States. Just don't forget to pull their tax withholding info through the IRS website.

Thanks, that’s exactly how I handled it.

Jack Rodriguez85 said:I dealt with something almost identical recently. Yes, you can.
Here is what you need:

Certification from the Ministry of Interior of Canada confirming the wife and children reside in Canada
Certification from the Department of Homeland Security confirming the wife and children DO NOT have residency in the US
A marriage certificate from Canada issued within the last 6 months
A copy of the wife's ID
Birth certificates for all the children

Take all of that to the local Medicare office (the one in Washington, D.C. is at 37 Branimirova St) and Medicare will coordinate with the Canadian health authorities to ensure everyone is covered under the father.

I just figured this all out recently after calling the Medicare info line regarding individual insurance.

Thanks; that's exactly how it worked for us, too.

Hello,
We run a small business, and since we aren't set up on the federal e-filing systems yet, I have a quick question. Is it enough to just physically submit a new employee's registration to Medicare, or do I still need to drop off a separate application at the local health insurance office afterward? Thanks!

urbanpilot9 said:Hello,
We run a small business, and since we aren't set up on the federal e-filing systems yet, I have a quick question. Is it enough to just physically submit a new employee's registration to Medicare, or do I still need to drop off a separate application at the local health insurance office afterward? Thanks!

In that specific situation, once you've filed everything with Medicare, you'll still need to go ahead and submit a physical application to the health insurance provider as well...

urbanpilot9 said:Hello,
We run a small business, and since we aren't set up on the federal e-filing systems yet, I have a quick question. Is it enough to just physically submit a new employee's registration to Medicare, or do I still need to drop off a separate application at the local health insurance office afterward? Thanks!

As long as you have a Social Security number, you're basically in the system, which means you should have access to the IRS online portal😉

Basically, since you're a small business owner (the IRS tracks you by your SSN), you get free access to the electronic tax tools...
All you really need is a modern ID card with a chip and a card reader (you can grab one from the DMV when you get your updated ID, usually no extra charge...) and the IRS site works fine without needing any expensive IRS certificates or extra fees...
One perk for small business owners is that you don't have to shell out money for those specialized IRS digital certificates because you can just use your ID. It's funny how nobody ever mentions that...

I haven't a clue about the specifics for Medicare vs. other agencies, but it's probably the same deal as the IRS stuff...

Hey there.

I was hoping someone could weigh in on a hiring situation?

Here’s the deal: my daughter is working for our family business. She’s been a full-time student until now, but she’s actually dropping out of college at the end of this month.
Right now, she's technically covered under the business owner as a dependent to keep her health insurance active. To make sure she doesn't lose coverage, we want to officially hire her for part-time work—about 4 hours a day at half the minimum wage on a permanent contract. I know we need to file the standard payroll and tax forms with the relevant agencies.
My question is, do we have to manually update the business registration to show she isn't a dependent anymore, or does the system just automatically clear that status once she's registered as an employee? Also, regarding taxes and withholdings—since she's 22 and this is her first real job, is she exempt from Medicare contributions? Is there anything else I might be overlooking here? Thanks.

Does anyone happen to know if it’s possible to adjust the pension records for a worker who isn't employed anymore? We need to update the insurance base...