Foreign Fiance & Public Assistance Questions

[JakeManila]

Good morning,

My fiance, a foreigner, and I are both living with HIV.  We live together in the Philippines, and (and this is ironic to me) our care is 100% covered by the government insurance corporation.  We have no out-of-pocket expenses whatsoever.  Granted, our meds are old formulas and generic meds reverse-engineered and manufactured in India.  But there's no financial burden to us caused by our condition, which is my point.

We're making plans to move to Seattle next year so we can be legally married.  But one of the requirements for me (American) is to prove that I'm financially stable enough to ensure that he doesn't end up on any kind of public assistance.  This kinda terrifies me.

See, I was diagnosed 3 years ago in the Philippines, and I know nothing of how it works in the States.  And because I'm out of the country I've had trouble accessing state or local websites that can offer details.  But I need to have all this kind of information BEFORE I file an affidavit of support for his visa.

My main question is this: Is HIV treatment expensive?  Does it require some form of public assistance to get the treatment we need?  Does anyone know of any resources I may be able to access from outside the country?

Thanks!
Jake

[mecch]

Are you freaking kidding me? "Is HIV treatment expensive?"
Hello, wake up and smell the bacon.
If you are serious about moving to Seattle (is that where you are from? - do you still have US citizenship and in what state?) - I'm not buying this idea that you can't get access info online. 

But my suggestion to you is to call the ASOs in the place where you are still a citizen and plan to move, and get the info you need, that way.

You are going to need either a good ACA (Affordable Care Act) health plan for the both of you, OR a government sponsored assistance (ADAP, Ryan White, Medicare, whatever), or employee sponsored insurance that will cover the both of you.
Nobody in the developed world is paying for meds and treatment out of pocket, trust me. Including the USofA.

If neither of you are citizens of the USA, this seems like a lost cause.