Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts related to eligibility for health care programs based on household income such as Covered California, Medi-Cal, Medicare usually based on federal poverty levels.
For eligible households with income over 250 percent FPL, only the Silver 73 plan will be offered, which is a better value than a Silver 70. At least for 2025, there will be no Silver 70 for qualifying households. The Silver 70 will still be offered to consumers who opt not to be considered for the Advance Premium Tax Credit subsidies based on household income.
Medi-Cal breaks up the income into unearned income, earned income, in kind income, and exempt income. Finally, there are certain expenses that will reduce the final countable income for eligibility in the Medicare Savings Program.
The Paragon Health Institute report on fraud in the ACA enrollments is flawed and biased. The report does highlight the desperate need for affordable health insurance in many states that have not expanded Medicaid.
Covered California is using AI to expedite the verification process. Common documents are scanned by AI, determined valid, and then the account is updated that the requested verification has been provided. Of course, the quality of the image submitted to Covered California can play a large role in AI being able to recognize and verify it or fail the submission.
I have created this income table that has the monthly income numbers for Medi-Cal eligibility next to the 2024 annual income amounts for the Covered California subsidies.The Medi-Cal income columns of the Covered California income table are 138% FPL for adults, 213% FPL for pregnant women, 266% FPL for children 18 years and younger, and 322% FPL for children in certain counties of California.
A single adult can now have a monthly income of $1,732 per month and retain their Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medi-Cal. The higher monthly income, an increase of $55 over 2023, is based on 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
The orange percent column titles represent dollar amounts pertaining to the eligibility for Medi-Cal programs. For example, adults with incomes under 138 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for Medi-Cal. There are specific columns for Medi-Cal for Pregnant Women, Medi-Cal for children under 19 years of age (266%), and Medi-Cal Access Program that corresponds with expanded children’s Medi-Cal in certain Bay Area counties (322%.)
The family did not understand what was going on. Why was their subsidy unilaterally changed by Covered California with no warning? They did not trust Covered California to get the numbers correct. I created a spreadsheet to see if the new subsidy and subsequent totals matched what they were eligible for at the estimated income.
Annual income. When entered on income section, Covered California will take the total amount and divide it by 12 and distribute an equal amount in each month. For example, you enter an annual income amount of $12,000 beginning in January. Each month through December will be allotted $1,000 to add to your monthly income and annual income totals.
The income columns that have been updated to reflect the higher federal poverty levels are 138%, 213%, 266%, and 322%. All those income columns, based on household size, correspond to Medi-Cal eligibility for adults, Medi-Cal for Pregnant Women, Medi-Cal for Children, and Medi-Cal Assess Program and CCHIP for children in counties in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. The other income columns that are not tied to Medi-Cal eligibility remain unchanged from the 2023 open enrollment period.
