Health insurance sticker shock!

brooklyn11211

Thu, Mar 16 2017, 5:25 pm

amother wrote:

Is there anything between the essential plan and the full price so you don't have to jump from paying $20 to paying $500?!!! Because that seems to be where I'm stuck now! Suppose we go with my estimate of $50-53k a year, that means I'm making 2000-5000 over the limit but I'll need to pay more than that for the insurance and that's just for me, forget the rest of the family!

Also wondering what is up with the family size calculation because we are in the process of divorce so the family size is going to shrink without much change in income because it was always mostly me earning - but our expenses are going to be just as much because it costs a lot more to raise kids alone than to house and feed one more adult. Mad

First off hugs, I am very sorry to hear about your situation, and yes the tax and welfare systems are structured in a way to work against the middle class, to the point where it sometimes does not pay to take a raise !

Now to your issue

for the kids you should be good to go with CHP, for yourself you should maybe check out

https://www.libertyhealthshare.org/

This may be a good option for you

amother

Burgundy

Thu, Mar 16 2017, 5:34 pm

I think they close by 4 and don't pick up the phone toward the end of the day. They're super busy can be pretty abrupt over the phone but if you make an appointment they really give you the time of day and are super helpful. There is no charge for their service. Especially helpful if you need to catch a deadline and they can navigate the red tape to get you on the plan in time.

amother

Burgundy

Thu, Mar 16 2017, 5:46 pm

I'm so sorry about the possible divorce. Sad

The family size will change as both spouses will file separately. The income will be split according to who makes what. And each child can only be claimed by one parent. So in all probability the family size will be 3 with smaller income (without the missing spouse's income) when applying for insurance.

amother

Crimson

Thu, Mar 16 2017, 5:49 pm

amother wrote:

I hope this isnt insensitive
You may not be able to afford divorce at this point. Unless there is violent abuse I would seriously reconsider splitting up

amother

Floralwhite

Thu, Mar 16 2017, 5:53 pm

amother wrote:

I hope this isnt insensitive
You may not be able to afford divorce at this point. Unless there is violent abuse I would seriously reconsider splitting up

Yes, it's pretty insensitive, in case you were wondering. This is not always a choice and it's not about money either.

I don't know if income will be considered less when the family size shrinks because there will be child support and that is counted. Which makes sense EXCEPT when it's enough to put you over assistance limits and not enough to not need assistance!

amother

Firebrick

Thu, Mar 16 2017, 6:51 pm

amother wrote:

I'm divorced and get no child support whatsoever from my ex (he is supposed to pay but doesn't). My children are on CHP. Obviously ex isn't included in family size and I totally relate to what you are saying about that it costs more to raise kids alone etc. Pretty much all our income before was mine so losing a household member definitely affected my premiums. B"H I still only pay $30 a month per kid and there are no copays at all. I don't qualify for any assistance for insurance for me and I pay about $400 a month for a plan offered by my employer (which also has a high deductible).

amother

Floralwhite

Sun, Mar 19 2017, 1:01 am

MAJOR UPDATE!
Though I still think there's room for discussion of health insurance plans and options and costs. But for me personally -
I went on NY State of Health plus the phone helpline. Turns out that latest letter saying our health plans are all ending and we aren't eligible for any help, was all based on some massive error, they seemed to think our income was $122k per year. I have NO IDEA where that number came from, especially since the person on the phone said most of it was listed simply as "other income." So I went through the application process AGAIN over the phone (I don't understand why but somehow between one thing and another this has been like the 4th try) and they said I AM eligible for the essential plan and my kids ARE eligible for the $15 CHP.

BUT because I only got this figured out after 3/15 those plans don't start until May 1, and my current plans are terminated as of March 31. Mad

I said if our plans were only terminating due to an error, can we just cancel the termination? And they said you need to file an appeal for that. I don't know how the appeal process works but I sure hope it takes less than 10 days Mad

The guy I was talking to transferred me to the appeals people and after taking all my information they put me on hold and then the call disconnected and it was too close to Shabbos to bother calling back after I'd already been on the phone with them an hour.

Stupid messed up system.

amother

Pearl

Sun, Mar 19 2017, 1:25 am

amother wrote:

I have been through the appeals process more than once and it does take longer .... More like 4-6 weeks .... my latest appeal was initiated end of January 2017 and approved just last week .. good luck !!!

ETA: Sorry to deliver "bad news " I just want you to be prepared that it's a long process

amother

Apricot

Sun, Mar 19 2017, 3:53 pm

amother wrote:

Call nachas healthcare.

Bleemee

Sun, Mar 19 2017, 4:08 pm

amother wrote:

What is this organization exactly?