Lawyer Huang Huili’s legal mailbox (November)

Lawyer Huang Huili’s legal mailbox (November) 1. Could Lawyer Huang please explain the recent decision of the Federal Supreme Court on the health care law? Answer: The Federal Supreme Court…

Lawyer Huang Huili’s legal mailbox (11) 1. Could Lawyer Huang please explain the recent decision of the Federal Supreme Court on the health care law? Answer: The Federal Supreme Court ruled on June 28 that the Affordable Care Act was not unconstitutional, although there was still controversy after the ruling. The main part of the new law will be implemented on January 1, 2014. Congress passed the new law in March 2010, but there have been ongoing debates. Before the ruling, national polls also showed that opponents were as high as 47% and supporters were only 33%. After the reform was implemented, it gained public support. The most obvious example is the federal health insurance plan (Medicare). This health insurance plan was launched in 1965. It also caused great controversy at the time. However, over the past few decades, it has now become the health insurance that Americans over 65 years old rely on. The new law allows 35 million people without health insurance to purchase health insurance. For the middle and low-income groups, current premiums are too expensive, and health insurance is a necessity, so people without health insurance can buy health insurance at an affordable cost. Where does the funding come from? Will it place a heavy burden on the federal government? After the implementation of the new law, we can gradually improve and try to reduce costs (the situation is like Medicare), but basically, under the stipulation that everyone must buy health insurance, the premiums paid by young and healthy people become subsidies for the elderly and unhealthy people. Some items of the new law have now been implemented. For example, young people can still stay on their parents' insurance policies until they are 26 years old. Children who were previously denied insurance due to illness can also be included in their parents' policies. Adults who were denied insurance due to illness in the past will no longer be denied insurance. The main method of the new law to absorb people without health insurance is to expand the federal Medicaid program (Medicaid) to absorb about 20 million people without health insurance (it cannot absorb all 35 million people). The method is to allow people with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level (for a family of three, the income is 25,390 yuan) to participate in Medicaid. The federal government will subsidize 100% of the funds, which will gradually be reduced to 90% after the implementation of the plan. The core project of the new law is the establishment of new "health insurance exchanges" in each state. Insurance companies provide different health insurance plans, and individuals and small businesses can enter the market to purchase (insurance companies must compete with each other). The biggest beneficiaries are those low-income people without health insurance (about 15 million people, mainly those whose income is 133% to 400% of the federal poverty level). The health insurance market will start operating on January 1, 2014. Each state must report to the federal government before November 16 this year whether to set up its own market; if not, the federal government will set up a market for each state. States that are unwilling to set up their own markets (such as states controlled by conservatives) will not receive federal subsidies. 2. I have a green card and have been back in Taiwan for almost two years. However, my green card will expire in July next year and I have to go back in person to renew it. However, if I have been back in Taiwan for so long, will the Immigration Bureau allow me to change smoothly? Answer: The key factor that determines your green card status is whether you have the intention to make the United States your permanent residence. If you have been away from the United States for more than a year without applying for a re-entry permit, this will be an important basis for thinking that you have given up your intention to give up your green card. Therefore, green card holders who have been away from the United States for more than one year are recommended to apply for a re-entry permit in advance. If you have not applied for a re-entry permit and have been out of the United States for more than a year, if you re-enter the United States, you must explain to the immigration officer when you enter the country that you still intend to maintain your green card status. Your entry and exit will be recorded, and changing your passport will not affect the length of your departure. If you are worried that it will be difficult to enter the United States, you may consider applying for a return visa (SB-1 Visa) in Taiwan. The return visa is provided to green card holders who have been away from the country for one year or whose return paper has expired to return to the United States to activate their permanent resident status. You need to submit the DS-117 form, the application fee of US$275 and your green card. If you have a return paper, please submit the return paper and supporting materials. They include: 1. Proof of the time you left the country, including air tickets and passport entry and exit stamps; 2. Documents proving your connection with the United States and evidence of your intention to return to the United States, including tax returns filed while you are abroad and still in the United States, your financial, family and social connections with the United States, and any other evidence that proves your intention to still use the United States as your permanent place of residence; 3. Proof that the time you left the United States was due to a reason beyond your control , including physical illness, a U.S. employer sending you to another country to live abroad with your U.S. spouse, etc.