Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts on the development and implementation of the California health insurance market place, application, account, enrollment, termination.
Many parents are surprised to learn that their children are placed in Medi-Cal after completing the Covered California health insurance application. Medi-Cal eligibility is determined by the monthly household income, not the annual Modified Adjusted Gross Income. If the monthly household income is below 266% of the federal poverty level (FPL), but above 138% of […]
In updated Frequently Asked Questions regarding the ACA Premium Tax Credits and federal tax returns, the IRS says tax payers can file with what they know are bad 1095-As issued by Covered California. The tax payer will then have the option to file an amended tax return if they are entitled to a larger […]
Families who purchased health insurance and pediatric dental through Covered California are getting a corrected 1095-A Marketplace statement because Covered California forgot to add the pediatric dental insurance premiums on the initial 1095-A. For families who have already filed their taxes with the incorrect information and subsequently received a corrected 1095-A, they may have to […]
Publication 974, released by the IRS in March 2015, is a fairly comprehensive review of the ACA health insurance premium tax credit rules. Its release is long overdue as many Americans have struggled to understand how the Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC) afforded by the ACA interact with their federal taxes. Publication 974 addresses many different […]
I’m not above begging. That is essentially what I did when I addressed the Covered California Board at their March 5, 2015 meeting. Since I have not been paid a commission from Covered California’s small group SHOP division in over eight months, I was politely requesting if someone could look into the situation. My […]
The federal Department of Health and Human Services has published the 2015 federal poverty line (FPL) which includes a modest increase over the 2014 FPL. The FPL is used by Marketplace exchanges like Covered California to determine when an individual or family is eligible for either Medicaid, Medi-Cal in California, or tax credits to purchase […]
Numerous individuals with income below the ACA threshold to receive tax credits must weigh the consequences of selling assets in order to be eligible for the tax credits to purchase a private plan through a Marketplace exchange like Covered California. The prospect of selling retirement assets early in order to qualify for affordable health […]
Information from a consumer’s 1095-A Marketplace Statement reveals that Covered California continued to credit Anthem Blue Cross with Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC) even after the consumer had transitioned to Medi-Cal. While there doesn’t appear to be any fraud, Anthem did receive at least $647 for an individual who was no longer a member of their […]
It’s great news that both Healthcare.gov and Covered California are offering a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for individuals that are becoming aware of the individual mandate penalty for not having health insurance. Unfortunately, there will still be individuals and families that enroll during this SEP that will get hit with the IRS Shared Responsibility Payment (SRP) for […]
The Affordable Care Act has helped provide health insurance to millions of America’s citizens and residents. The accompanying bureaucracy has also created mental health meltdowns for thousands of individuals and families. Through a series of website glitches, bureaucratic rules and purposely designed narrow provider networks, the ACA is delivering unparalleled amounts of stress, anxiety, and for […]
