Can't afford health insurance -- options?

[miles monroe]

Son makes 24k a year. Wife has part time retail job. Just had a baby.

He has family health insurance through his job -- 11K a year.

Anything I can suggest to him?

[dm200]

Son makes 24k a year. Wife has part time retail job. Just had a baby.
He has family health insurance through his job -- 11K a year.
Anything I can suggest to him?

What is total family income?

He will have to do the exercise, but he may qualify for an ACA subsidy buying family insurance on an exchange.

Might he have other employment options with better healthcare benefits?

[KlingKlang]

Go to HealthCare.gov and check on their eligibility for both Medicaid and ACA coverage in your state.

[dm200]

Go to HealthCare.gov and check on their eligibility for both Medicaid and ACA coverage in your state.

Yes - depending on the state, medicaid might be an option.

[Pajamas]

In NY a family of three with an income of $24k would qualify for Medicaid, but it varies by state. What state is he in?

[sambb]

can also re-evaluate career options to try to incerase salary and benefits

[dm200]

Check also for child's insurance for lower income families.

[samsoes]

If your son and his family qualify, they can join Medishare https://mychristiancare.org/ or Christian Healthcare Ministries http://www.chministries.org.

[chickadee]

If you have access to employer offered insurance, then you are not typically eligible for an ACA subsidy (premium tax credit). If you read the link though, the employer coverage has to be meet two criteria: affordability and minimums of coverage.

https://www.healthcare.gov/have-job-bas ... e/options/

It sounds like your son’s plan may not actually be affordable under the guidelines, hence he’d be eligible for a nice ACA subsidy. You need to do the real math like the examples provided. Example 2 sounds pretty close to his situation.

https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/aff ... -coverage/

[inbox788]

Just wondering out loud, but what are the implications of separate insurance? Conventional wisdom says that family plans are simpler and less costly. Would Father/child on one policy separate from mother or mother/child and father lead to lower costs? Logistically, what are the complications when using them?

[stemikger]

In New York, under the ACA, he would be eligible for Medicaid at his salary. Check the State where you live.

[miles monroe]

OP here; thanks all the great ideas so far. I wasn't aware that he may be able to qualify for ACA, and Medicaid never crossed my mind. I'll look into both as well as the other suggestions.

In response to a couple questions; (1) they live in Georgia, and (2) his wife makes about 9k which brings their family income to 33K.

Keep the suggestions coming; I'll read all of them. Thanks.

[Pajamas]

Georgia didn't expand Medicaid and doesn't have its own marketplace for healthcare coverage but they should still look at ACA coverage from healthcare.gov and the child would probably qualify for PeachCare.

https://dch.georgia.gov/eligibility-criteria

https://www.healthcare.gov/

[Wagnerjb]

Can he save money by living with you?

[ram]

https://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/607
Check SCHIP for the child.

[Sandtrap]

"Google" search "ACA Subsidy Cliff".
Don't fall off of it.
Consequences are $$$$$$$$$.
ACA SUBSIDY CLIFF
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/obamaca ... imization/

aloha
j

[Katietsu]

This is always a complicated topic. Hopefully, there are not any bits of information or details that will be a "gotcha." My best guess is that the family contribution through the ACA should be about $2500 per year. He should also be eligible for lower deductibles and cost sharing if he chooses a silver plan. There is paperwork to show that the employer plan is unaffordable. This is defined as 9.56% of household income for self only plan. So for the son to qualify for ACA subsidies, you would need to know self only employee contribution. Daughter in law could qualify with him or without him.

Similarly, if he has gone without insurance in the past or is going without it now, he should not pay a penalty for failing to have insurance. He should instead claim the exemption for unaffordable. Again, this assumes all the facts are here.

As others have mentioned, the income also should qualify the child for PeachCare. The co pays are super low.

[munemaker]

Son makes 24k a year. Wife has part time retail job. Just had a baby.

He has family health insurance through his job -- 11K a year.

Anything I can suggest to him?

If employer provided health insurance is not affordable, one can get on ObamaCare. ObamaCare defines employer insurance as not affordable if the cost of self-only coverage exceeds 9.5% of income. Therefore you may be able to buy insurance on the ObamaCare exchange.

Employee's required premium co-share for the lowest-cost, self-only coverage that provides minimum value is not greater than 9.5 percent of an employee's W-2 taxable (Box 1) income

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/ ... erage.aspx

Use this calculator to see how much you will pay: https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

Advice: Make sure income stays high enough to qualify for ObamaCare. If your income is too low, they will push you on to Medicaid.

[Hulahoop60]

How are are your son and his wife? If they are both under 26, could he possibly be added to your family insurance, and his wife to her parent's insurance and the the baby to Peachtree as suggested by another poster? Both of my children stayed on my insurance until they were 26.

[TropikThunder]

"Google" search "ACA Subsidy Cliff".
Don't fall off of it.
Consequences are $$$$$$$$$.
ACA SUBSIDY CLIFF
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/obamaca ... imization/

aloha
j

It really doesn’t look like OP’s son and DIL are at risk of falling off the subsidy cliff anytime soon since it’s $81,000 for a family of three.

[munemaker]

"Google" search "ACA Subsidy Cliff".
Don't fall off of it.
Consequences are $$$$$$$$$.
ACA SUBSIDY CLIFF
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/obamaca ... imization/

aloha
j

It really doesn’t look like OP’s son and DIL are at risk of falling off the subsidy cliff anytime soon since it’s $81,000 for a family of three.

That's what I was thinking...but they could fall under the minimum income to qualify for ObamaCare, and get pushed on to Medicaid.

[Pajamas]

That's what I was thinking...but they could fall under the minimum income to qualify for ObamaCare, and get pushed on to Medicaid.

Not an issue for them because Georgia's government chose not to expand Medicaid. The parents would simply become uninsured if their income dropped. The U.S. does not have universal health care coverage.

[munemaker]

Not an issue for them because Georgia's government chose not to expand Medicaid.

Thanks - missed the part about them living in Ga.

The U.S. does not have universal health care coverage.

Of course not! Who thought we (the US) did?

[dm200]

That's what I was thinking...but they could fall under the minimum income to qualify for ObamaCare, and get pushed on to Medicaid.

Not an issue for them because Georgia's government chose not to expand Medicaid. The parents would simply become uninsured if their income dropped. The U.S. does not have universal health care coverage.

Watch for possible changes. Here in Virginia, the Virginia legislature consistently refused to expand medicaid. While the 2017 elections for the Virginia House of Delegates did not change the party in control, the significant changes (along with a Governor who supports expansion) seem to indivate that Virginia may soo expand medicaid.