Any Young Singles with Obamacare?

[gottalovepluto]

Thank you for this thread, my DD turns 26 this year and I wondered about insurance. She's in school and has no income, and when she said she was able to get Medicaid I was skeptical. Is it because she's a full time student? What if she wasn't, and she just chose not to work, would she still qualify?

First check your state's medicaid rules as apparently they're all a little different. Here's the federal info on Medicaid eligibility: https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/eligibility/index.html As you can see you can qualify based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income which comes from your taxes. They do not test assets so theoretically your daughter could have a million bucks in the bank & make $0 this year and she would qualify for Medicaid. Also they do not test your ability to work so it doesn't matter if she is a full time student, or spends her days doing absolutely, nothing she'd qualify for Medicaid. (I don't mean to sound snippy just trying to be clear )

 

[lanejudy]

Just realized time is up. Her 26th birthday is in April and I thought she got to stay on our plan until the end of the year but that's false. Just got the letter.

Since I can't get her help on this before the deadline, I went with the plan that would deal with me.

I panicked a bit when I read the window to sign up for ACA ends on Jan. 31.

OP -- I suggest you check that you aren't paying for double-coverage, or at least to know if that is the case.

If she was truly dropped from your insurance, your premium should go down. Assuming there is nothing particularly different about your current coverage, though, she should absolutely be covered by it until the end of the month when she actually turns 26. The Jan. 31st enrollment deadline does not apply to her as she would have been allowed to enroll due to special circumstances (loss of coverage due to aging off parents' policy). Unless it is currently open-enrollment time for yourself, you probably cannot drop her now and may be stuck covering her on your plan until she ages off -- which fortunately is just April, but your deductibles and OOP max may not adjust at that time even though your premium should.

It sounds like she may have double-coverage through April. If so, one plan needs to be deemed "primary" and there are rules around which, so if that isn't sorted out in advance (now) it could set off a huge set of complications later if/when she has a claim processed. She will need to provide info about both coverages to any medical providers she has.

Good luck!

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

Well since the OP neglected to say her dd was ASD that makes a difference. Op if your ASD DD is not adulting well then maybe you need a medical conservatorship. We have one for our ASD adult child.

 

[wilkeliza]

Well since the OP neglected to say her dd was ASD that makes a difference. Op if your ASD DD is not adulting well then maybe you need a medical conservatorship. We have one for our ASD adult child.

Agreed that it makes a difference. Of course if they are ASD and having a little bit of a hard time adulting parents should be there to support and make sure they don't lose their coverage especially if they are getting any therapy or assistance. . However, based on what was said in the original post especially the off at a convention not answering their phone I took it as someone who was living on their own in the adult world not someone with additional needs. I still stand by my original statement that a 26 year old adult with no conditions should have to face the consequences of not having insurance if they won't even answer a phone call from their mom.

 

[trip]

My point is that policies are still priced according to age. This is no different than prior to the ACA. However, the rates for everyone went up - not so that the young can subsidize the older people (who pay a higher premium for the exact same plan!) but to subsidize the chronically ill who either paid a huge price for coverage due to their condition or they could not obtain insurance at all. Your PP implied that due to the ACA, young people's insurance premium rose so that they could subsidize the cost of insuring older health consumers and that is not the case. EVERYONE'S premiums rose in order to cover the cost of insuring the uninsurable. In reality, what the ACA did was expand the insurance pool so that those who have a lesser need are paying for those who have a greater need.

And we never know when those of lesser need will become one who needs greater need. Thus the need that everyone should have insurance!

 

[Dancind]

Well since the OP neglected to say her dd was ASD that makes a difference. Op if your ASD DD is not adulting well then maybe you need a medical conservatorship. We have one for our ASD adult child.

Thought about it. Then imagined what her reaction would be. Ha.

Did not really want to go the Medicaid route because it's looking like those benefits are going to be cut back, and soon.

 

[dina444444]

I'm not sure what state you are in but Kaiser means you are only able to go to Kaiser facilities. Check to see what doctors are covered under each plan and you can sign up for insurance once open enrollment passes under special circumstances such as aging out of your parents insurance. I would also check options on the exchange to see if she can keep the same doctors if she's not already in the kaiser system. If she's unlikely to meet the deductible at $3k as a healthy adult it might be better to go with a less expensive plan as preventative care is covered at 100%.