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Posts related to California's Medi-Cal program, specifically MAGI based, income eligibility, enrollment, costs, children, Covered California.

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Covered California To Include Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity Questions

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One of the first changes consumers and agents will notice is under the information for household members. For the question of Sex (which should be gender), in addition to Male and Female, the drop down box will include Transgender: Male to Female and Transgender: Female to Male. While selecting the Sex is required, the Covered California application does not alert the consumer to the fact that rates are not based on gender AND you cannot be denied health insurance or receive a higher rate because you are transgender.

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Using Medi-Cal During A Union Strike To Keep Health Insurance

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When a union goes on strike it can be difficult for union members and those trade members associated with the union to keep paying their health insurance premiums with either reduced or no income. There are options to maintaining health insurance if you know the rules of the health insurance game. These rules revolve around Special Enrollment Periods with the qualifying event of loss of coverage.

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Do You Have To Repay Medi-Cal After Your Income Increases?

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Millions of people have been enrolled into expanded Medi-Cal through Covered California based solely on their lack of income. Thousands of those same Medi-Cal beneficiaries went on to get jobs or other insurance and forgot to report this to their county Medi-Cal eligibility department. Many of these people fear they will have to repay Medi-Cal for the months they were really ineligible for the no cost health insurance. Do you have to repay Medi-Cal after your income increases and you were no longer eligible? The short answer is usually not.

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New Medi-Cal Estate Recovery Program Rules for 2017

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The Department of Health Care Services has updated their Estate Recovery Program page to reflect the new rules ushered in with the passage of SB 833 in 2016. There had been some confusion as to who was actually subject to new Estate Recovery rules. Essentially, it all hinges on when the Medi-Cal beneficiary dies.

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Everything You Wanted To Know About Medi-Cal, But Were Afraid To Ask

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The Western Center On Law & Poverty has put together a comprehensive guide to the Medicaid program in California known as Medi-Cal. Published in March 2016, there are bound to be changes to many of Medi-Cal’s programs, conditions, and eligibility in 2017. Titled Getting and Keeping Health Coverage for Low-Income Californians: A Guide for Advocates is 375 pages long and covers many topics from eligibility, citizenship, enrollment, re-determination, and the variety of programs Medi-Cal offers such as Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medi-Cal Access Program (MCAP) for pregnant women.

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San Diego Medi-Cal Mugs Family of Health Insurance

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Like a mugger coming out of the shadows, San Diego County Medi-Cal worker(s) mugged a family enrolled in Covered California and stole their health insurance for 2107. The attack was unprovoked as the couple had not been in Medi-Cal and don’t have any children in Medi-Cal. However, Covered California reported the family to San Diego County because the family fit the profile of a household who they think aren’t smart enough to estimate their own income for 2017.

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Medi-Cal Takes Over Covered California

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Several clients have contacted me regarding eligibility determination forms they have received from Medi-Cal, even though some or all of the family members have a Covered California plan with the tax credit subsidy. Even if the household information on the forms is wrong, Covered California consumers should supply the necessary information to their county Medi-Cal office or risk losing their private health plans altogether. Medi-Cal has effectively taken over the functions of Covered California if the family had been in Medi-Cal or if they still have children covered by Medi-Cal.

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Did You Lose Your Covered California Subsidy? Blame it on Medi-Cal

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Consumers logging into their Covered California accounts hoping to renewal their health insurance may find they have lost their subsidy. Instead of the reduced premium amount they are used to paying, Covered California displays that are not receiving the tax credit subsidy and must pay the full premium amount. A common denominator for consumers who have lost their subsidy is that they had been on Medi-Cal in 2016, but later in the year qualified for Covered California and the Advance Premium Tax Credits to lower their monthly health insurance bill. The transfer of critical application information from Medi-Cal to Covered California is missing, triggering a loss of the subsidy.

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Orange County Medi-Cal corrupts Covered California consumer account

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One Orange County Medi-Cal eligibility worker not only made his necessary changes to the consumer’s account, he also corrupted some information within the Covered California enrollment system. Because Medi-Cal puts a soft pause on the consumer’s account when one of the household members is eligible for Medi-Cal, only the county Medi-Cal worker can correct the wrong mailing address they created and reverse the Covered California consumer’s negative declaration of interest in subsidized health insurance.

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Medi-Cal Estate Recovery and IRS 1095-B confusion

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The implementation of Obamacare requires it to be administered by a variety of federal, state, and local government bureaucracies. Many consumers have been caught in a swirl of seemingly conflicting and utterly confusing rules, advice, and government forms. This cauldron of Obamacare confusion is particularly acute among individuals over 55 years old who are subject to California’s Medi-Cal Estate Recovery program. The anxiety instilled in this population is compounded by conflicting IRS 1095 forms that seem to open the door to a large tax bill for the repayment of the premium subsidies they received during the year.

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