Medicare/Medicaid
Laid off and health plan ends 8/31. I'm in Virginia. COBRA is expensive so I don't want it
My last day of work was 8/8 but I talked to someone at CoverVA and asked if I had to wait to apply until my health insurance ends. They told me I should apply sooner and write in the notes when my plan ends because it can take 45 days to process. So I applied at the end of July and got denied. The application asked about my household and I think my partner's income was also factored in even though we are not married and do our taxes separately. For my income - I've made around $35K this year (net pay), $50K gross pay. I will get my last paycheck 8/22 but I am unemployed now.
Is there a way I can get them not to factor in my partner's income here? Is my income that I've earned this year too high to qualify if I'm now unemployed?
I need to be able to see my dermatologist and psychiatrist. And I guess if I needed to go to the ER it would be nice to have health insurance, but if I can't get medicaid while I don't have an income then I would rather be uninsured
ETA: I'm 33 and pretty healthy
Second edit: The CoverVA application specifically says "How many people live in your home?" and asks about tax filing status, spouse, and dependents in other questions. I just reapplied and said only I live in my home, which is technically false but oh well
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There isn't a red flag since you are being accurate since legally only YOUR income is used to calculate eligibility for Medicaid or the premium subsidy.
If you were applying for food stamps/EBT benefits then your household income might be used if you share food. But roommates who don't share food can be separate households even for EBT benefits
the way they word it is misleading. my partner and i bought our house together but we split all the bills and keep all our finances separate, files taxes separately, no kids, etc. we purposely do this so that his income isn't factored into my student loan debt
I’m not directly familiar with CoverVA; however, healthcare.gov also over uses the word household. In essence, household really means your tax household not roommates. This definition of household impacts many situations like when one spouse is covered under an employer and one is not, covering children under 26 that are no longer claimed on tax returns, children covered under Medicaid when the parents aren’t, one spouse over 65 covered by Medicare, etc.
If you are not legally married (as defined by the IRS), you should be filing taxes as a single person and that is how you should apply for health insurance. In the eyes of the IRS, your partner is nothing more than a roommate. 🙂🙃 A quick google search tells me Virginia does not recognize common law marriages. Accordingly, you should not include your partner on your application unless you get legally married.
the coverVA application says “who lives in your home” so i thought if i didn’t include my partner it would be considered a fraudulent application, but i 100% agree with you
Just saw your second edit. I forget exactly how healthcare.gov asks the question, but I remember it being equally confusing. Here’s a link to healthcare.gov reference which proves you should technically answer the question incorrectly Who to include in your “household” 🙃🙂
The language is unfortunate. So is the explanation. It trips so many people up across the country. Household is a legal term here not a colloquial one. You should consider it in the tax sense as it was intended. That means only the income of your spouse will be imputed to you, not an unmarried partner. It also hypothetically includes your tax dependents like minor children and older children with disabilities.
i clicked health benefits only so it shouldn't have been combined
would it be a red flag if i reapplied and said i lived alone then? because the coverVA application says "who else lives in your home?" and not "who is in your tax household?". i specifically said i had no dependents and filed taxes as single
so i guess the person on the phone that told me to apply early was wrong and i needed to wait until september even tho i need to start coverage in september?
idk this CoverVA website is annoying bc it's not asking stuff that yall are saying it's supposed to ask so i'm over it. i'm going to go to my local human services place tomorrow in person and talk to someone face to face
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If there is a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital.
Questions about what plan to choose? Please read through this post to understand your choices.
If you haven't provided this information already, please edit your post to include your age, state, and estimated gross (pre-tax) income to help the community better serve you.
If you have an EOB (explanation of benefits) available from your insurance website, have it handy as many answers can depend on what your insurance EOB states.
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