Your children could be flipped into Medi-Cal if you return to Covered California without having properly terminated Medi-Cal earlier. On numerous occasions, children were flipped from Covered California to Medi-Cal, even if the stated estimated income was high enough to make everyone eligible for the subsidies.
California MAGI Medi-Cal
Posts related to how California MAGI Medi-Cal works, especially with Covered California, enrollment, termination, household income.
Public Health Emergency Extended Until October 13th Helping Medi-Cal Eligibility
The Public Health Emergency (PHE) conditions state that no one will be terminated from Medi-Cal unless they move out of state. Of course, individuals can report a change to their situation, such as gaining employer sponsored health insurance, and seek a termination from Medi-Cal.
Automatic Medi-Cal to Covered California Enrollment
Consumers transitioned to Covered California do not have to keep the lowest cost Silver plan they have been enrolled into. You can select a lower or higher metal tier plan (Bronze, Gold, or Platinum.) You can select a different health plan that may support your doctors. For example, you may have been enrolled in a Kaiser Silver plan, but your doctors are affiliated a different medical group; you can change the plan selection.
Non-MAGI Medi-Cal Asset Limit Increases to $130,000
The higher asset limit applies to non-exempt assets. Generally, assets exempt from the calculation are an individual’s house as a primary residence, one car, burial plot, up to $1,500 in a burial expense account, furniture, and other household and personal items. What has stymied many people from being eligible for some Non-MAGI Medi-Cal programs are the non-exempt assets such as savings accounts, stocks, bonds, or other assets that could be liquidated to pay for health care services.
Medi-Cal Plans To Unwind Covid Emergency Enrollment and Eligibility Protections
Currently, there are 14.5 million Californians in some sort of Medi-Cal health care program. This represents a 16 percent increase since March 2020, largely attributed to continuous coverage requirements of the PHE. Based on Medi-Cal outreach mailings that had a 12 percent return rate, undeliverable, DHCS estimates that upwards of 2 million people could lose their Medi-Cal coverage due to loss of contact.
Does Medi-Cal Have A Right To Tamper With Your Covered California Account?
Santa Barbara County sent a letter saying the couple did not qualify for Medi-Cal. They then received a letter from Covered California stating that they no longer qualified for any subsidy. When I accessed the couple’s Covered California account, all of their income information had been erased. When I looked at the transaction history on the Covered California account, Santa Barbara County Medi-Cal office had accessed the account and submitted changes.
Do You Need To Report Your Inheritance To Medi-Cal and Covered California?
When you receive an inheritance of money, that cash is an asset, no different than a savings account. The inheritance is not counted as monthly income. It is generally considered a one-time lump sum distribution. Consequently, an inheritance of money should not impact your MAGI Medi-Cal eligibility.
Big Increase for the 2022 Medi-Cal Income Amounts
For a single adult, the monthly Medi-Cal income was $1,482. In 2022, the monthly income will increase to $1,564. In other words, an adult can earn up to $1,564 per month and still qualify for no cost Medi-Cal. MAGI Medi-Cal annual amounts for a single adult increased to $18,755, from $17,775 in 2021, for a single adult.
Automatic Medi-Cal to Silver Plan and Loss of Coverage Notification
The new law requires Covered California to automatically enroll individuals who have been terminated from Medi-Cal into the lowest cost Silver plan in the person’s region. The automatic enrollment is meant to prevent a gap from when an individual or family is terminated from Medi-Cal to when they enroll in a new health plan.
2021 Medi-Cal Income Amounts Modest Increase FPL
Individuals and families who enrolled in health insurance through Covered California for plan year 2021 were determined eligible for any federal or California premium assistance based on 2020 FPL numbers. Even if the new FPLs are higher than the estimated income, the enrollment and subsidies will continue. However, if you make change to your application during the year, the new FPLs will apply and could trigger Medi-Cal eligibility.