Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts related to the benefits and coverage for children in health insurance plans in California.
So here is the third subsidy bonus for large families. Not only are you billed for only three children, but you get a larger subsidy based on the entire household size. When you combine that with the inflated Silver plan rates, relative to the lower off-exchange Silver plans, large families get a nice subsidy to lower their health insurance premiums. You don’t pay for any more than three children, but you get the Premium Tax Credit as if the whole family were being billed for health insurance.
A review of health insurance rates in Northern and Southern California shows rates for young adults will increase between 30% to over 40%. Instead of the 6% to 16% increase in rates for adults only, families could experience a 20% increase in health insurance rates in 2018.
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.
Covered California sent out a notice that some children in the Bay Area will be deemed Medi-Cal eligible and will be taken off their parent’s health plan as of April 1, 2016. The expanded Medi-Cal kids’ option only applies to the Bay Area counties of San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. Because these counties have a higher cost-of-living, they have higher income eligibility for the Medi-Cal kids program. Whereas most families have their children dropped in Medi-Cal if their Modified Adjusted Gross Income is below 266% of the federal poverty line (FPL), in these Bay Area counties children qualify for Medi-Cal with a household income of 322% of the FPL.
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 […]
One of the selling features of the Affordable Care Acts was that children could stay on their parent’s health plan until they turned 26 years old. Unfortunately, Covered California excludes from eligibility any household member that will not be claimed as a dependent by the primary taxpayer associated with the account. However, IRS guidance suggests that […]
Covered California is changing and expanding their dental plans. First, all health plans will include children’s dental insurance. There will be no need to purchase a separate dental plan for dependents 18 and younger. Second, Covered California will begin to offer family dental plans on the exchange. But who are these dental plans and are […]
I don’t know the president. But I do have a child. When the president said that Trayvon Martin could have been his son, I identified with that as I have a teenage son. When the president cited the cruelty administered to Syrian children with the sarin gas attack, I identified with his visceral feelings.
Justice Scalia could see that Mr. Cooper’s arguments in support of California’s Proposition 8 constitutional amendment, defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman, was sinking. Short of stepping down from the bench to argue against same-sex marriage, Justice Scalia tossed a softball hypothesis of the danger to children raised by homosexual parents. […]
The surge in advocacy for gun control legislation has been primarily among white suburban folks.
