A Reader Asks: Can Foreign Visitors Buy Health Insurance Exchange Plans?
Q. Does Obamacare offer coverage to visitors to the United States who plan to stay for up to six months?

A. Even if you鈥檙e visiting the United States for several months, you generally won鈥檛 be eligible to buy a health plan on the health insurance marketplace, say experts.
In addition to United States citizens, the exchanges are open to people who are 鈥溾 in the United States. If you鈥檙e here as a tourist or have a non-immigrant visa, you鈥檒l likely satisfy that requirement, says Jenny Rejeske, a health policy analyst at the National Immigration Law Center.
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But there鈥檚 also a residency requirement to buy coverage on a state marketplace. In general, 鈥測ou have to be living in the state and intend to reside in the state,鈥 or work there, says Rejeske. It鈥檚 unlikely that someone who鈥檚 in the United States temporarily would meet those tests, she says.