View Full Version : Would I qualify for Medicaid for my 2014 thru?
Turkey Sandwich
10-14-2013, 03:50
For the people out there who are much more well-educated on the subject than me.
A little background info:
I am 26 years old.
For the year of 2014, I plan on working part-time in January or February to save up a little money before the hike. I will probably get another part-time job in September or October when I finish. This means that I will make, at best, $9000-$10000 annually in 2014.
I have my permanent address in NY State. New York has expanded Medicaid, so the cutoff for Medicaid benefits is a monthly income of $1273 or lower.
If the Medicaid cutoff is factored as a dividend of annual income, then I would obviously be eligible. If it's factored as monthly income for the months in which I am working, I probably would not be.
For what it's worth, I will have been working overseas for 10 of the 12 months in 2013. So if my 2013 taxable income is used, it will be a pittance. Like, $3000 or something.
So, my questions are: Does anybody know how the cutoff is factored? Can I even use my expected income for 2014 to qualify? Would they use my 2013 income instead? And if so, won't the fact that I was working and paying taxes overseas nullify all the money that I made in the other country?
Thanks!
Alleghanian Orogeny
10-14-2013, 05:53
1) You are currently employed and able to work.
2) You expect to work in late 2014 after the thru.
3) Your "tax home" is New York State.
4) You expect to make use of the foreign earned income tax credit to shield your 2013 South Korea earnings from Federal income tax.
If the above is true, what you propose is to have the Federal government promise to pay 80% of any medical costs for any illness or injury incurred while you hike. You would not pay a dime of insurance premium for their assurance. Time would tell, I suppose, as to how much of the patient's 20% of the costs of various doctors, clinics, and hospitals would receive. If it's hospitals who ultimately get stiffed, in many cases local taxpayers "eat" that one.
Whether you would "qualify" for Medicaid or not isn't the question. Your deliberate impoverishment of yourself in order to "qualify" isn't the intent of Medicaid, no matter the number-crunching. If my 26 year-old son came to me for advice on such a plan, I'd berate him for not being man enough to work, pay his taxes, save his take-home pay, and then do all the backpacking he might choose. But he can't come to me for that discussion right now. He's in uniform in a combat zone, working 6-7 days a week, and saving his very hard-earned money. In fact, since he enlisted in the Reserves, between his civilian trade and his military pay, he's paid thousands upon thousands of dollars into the very Federal income tax/Social Security/Medicare tax system which you would "game" in order to spend 6 months thru-hiking.
I hope you find a way to do your thru on your own dime. It's pretty bold to ask taxpayers to subsidize it.
AO
Turkey Sandwich
10-14-2013, 06:09
Thanks for the response.
I promise, the last thing I'm trying to do is "game the system." Looking back at my post, I can see how it seems that way. Insuring myself in the US is all new to me, as I've been party only to South Korea's single payer system for most of my adult life, and on my parents' plan before that.
I asked only out of curiosity, as I truly don't know what the best course for a person who will be unemployed for the majority of 2014 would be, as far as buying a plan. Ultimately, I just want to know what someone without a source of income for nearly the whole year would do. I assume there would be some sort of subsidy to account for the fact that I'm bringing in next to nothing, right?
I want to stress that this post is just to educate me, not to take advantage of Joe Taxpayer. I did a cursory search of WB for similar topics but found nothing recent enough to account for the ACA.
Turkey Sandwich
10-14-2013, 06:11
And to address the inevitable "check out the NY State Healthcare website" posts, it will not allow queries from my Korean IP, for some reason.
QHShowoman
10-14-2013, 07:07
Income is only one of the stipulations. First of all, as a single person who works, you probably won't qualify for Medicaid unless there are children in your household that you're supporting or you have a disability or are on Social Security.
If you meet any of these criteria, you'll also be asked for the incomes of any other family members you live with, so if your NY address is your parents' residence, they'll factor your parents' income in as well.
Under the ACA, you can remain on your folks insurance until 26. So that may be a possibility. Otherwise, you'll need to purchase insurance through the exchange. I got an estimate through my state exchange just out of curiosity and it was $238/month for the silver level of coverage - and my income was a great deal higher than the number you'd be reporting, so for Bronze level coverage at a lower income, you'd pay considerably less.
From Beneifts.gov:
Program Description
Medicaid is a program for New Yorkers who can't afford to pay for medical care. Medicaid pays for a number of services, but some may not be covered for you because of your age, financial circumstances, family situation, transfer of resource requirements, or living arrangements. Some services have small co-payments. These services may be provided using your Medicaid card or through your managed care plan if you are enrolled in managed care. You will not have a co-pay if you are in a managed care plan.
General Program Requirements
In order to qualify for this benefit program, you must be a resident of the state of New York, a U.S. national, citizen, permanent resident, or legal alien, in need of health care/insurance assistance, whose financial situation would be characterized as low income or very low income. You must also be either pregnant, a parent or relative caretaker of a dependent child(ren) under age 19, blind, have a disability or a family member in your household with a disability, or be 65 years of age or older.
ams212001
10-14-2013, 08:44
Check into individual healthcare plans some private health insurance companies offer temporary/short term healthcare for a lower price. I have blue cross blue shield that I pay for out of pocket and they seem to have a solid selection of insurance plans depending on what you need. With that said they are different in every state.
If I were you I would look up private companies and compare prices. That will give you ball park price of how much to save. Also, you probably would not be filing under medicaid at this point . I am pretty sure all your health insurance needs would go through the Affordable Healthcare Act if you were looking for government assistance.
If you do not have preexisting conditions, buy a catastrophic health plan now (before 1/1/14) while you still can do so. Many such plans will be grandfathered and qualify for renewal for 2014. However, As of 1/1/14, most catastrophic plans will no longer be permitted for new policyholders under the ACA. Check out http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/
Putting aside the ethical issues, no one can be legally turned away from an urgent care or emergency room facility regardless of coverage or ability to pay.
You are not disabled. You can't get Medicaid.
1) You are currently employed and able to work.
2) You expect to work in late 2014 after the thru.
3) Your "tax home" is New York State.
4) You expect to make use of the foreign earned income tax credit to shield your 2013 South Korea earnings from Federal income tax.
If the above is true, what you propose is to have the Federal government promise to pay 80% of any medical costs for any illness or injury incurred while you hike. You would not pay a dime of insurance premium for their assurance. Time would tell, I suppose, as to how much of the patient's 20% of the costs of various doctors, clinics, and hospitals would receive. If it's hospitals who ultimately get stiffed, in many cases local taxpayers "eat" that one.
Whether you would "qualify" for Medicaid or not isn't the question. Your deliberate impoverishment of yourself in order to "qualify" isn't the intent of Medicaid, no matter the number-crunching. If my 26 year-old son came to me for advice on such a plan, I'd berate him for not being man enough to work, pay his taxes, save his take-home pay, and then do all the backpacking he might choose. But he can't come to me for that discussion right now. He's in uniform in a combat zone, working 6-7 days a week, and saving his very hard-earned money. In fact, since he enlisted in the Reserves, between his civilian trade and his military pay, he's paid thousands upon thousands of dollars into the very Federal income tax/Social Security/Medicare tax system which you would "game" in order to spend 6 months thru-hiking.
I hope you find a way to do your thru on your own dime. It's pretty bold to ask taxpayers to subsidize it.
AO
AO, hats off to your son and all those who serve or have served...They are our true heroes, without whom "turkey sandwich" wouldn't even think to ask a question like this....( I wonder how many 26 year-olds in NORTH Korea are wondering if there's a government subsidy to support them while they go hiking for most of next year).
fredmugs
10-14-2013, 09:54
Make sure to take advantage of REIs return policy along the way.
TS, as you are still pretty young, and new to the US, in my opinion you can be forgiven for asking a question, which -- in my opinion -- you shouldn't even think to ask. Please realize that a subsidy means that somebody else pays for your costs. That "somebody else" also has dreams and also would rather not be working. Me, I'm healthy and able to work, but I like to cook, and I plan to spend most of next year in my kitchen. Now, you don't mind putting off your hiking plans so you can pay for my insurance while I "do my thing" do you? In fact, I'll probably have so much fun cooking, I may want to do that for 20 more years.....
I am sorely tempted to segue into politics right here....But I think I'll pass...
Turkey Sandwich
10-14-2013, 09:59
Well, I'm not new the US, but I am new to buying insurance for myself, so thank you for your understanding. As I stated before, this was an innocent question from one otherwise uneducated on the subject. I was operating under the assumption that I would still be paying into Medicaid while I was unemployed on the AT, and my ultimate question was whether it would be cheaper for me to do that or buy a health plan.
I am by no means looking for a free ride. I simply misunderstood a lousy FAQ about Medicaid and posted with misinformation. As the point was to enlighten myself, I don't feel bad for being a little ignorant to start with.
QHShowoman
10-14-2013, 10:25
Personally, I find the use of purple Comic Sans font far more offensive than Turkey Sandwich's question.
If you're used to the way healthcare works in other countries, it's reasonable to assume that a program like Medicaid is the equivalent of public insurance. But it's not. Until the ACA was passed, there simply was no affordable health insurance option for those that fell into the gap between private insurance and Medicaid.
Before the ACA, if you lost employment and therefore, lost your health insurance, you could opt for COBRA, which was prohibitively expensive for many people. If you were employed but didn't have an employer-sponsored health plan, either you went without or looked into private insurance which, for most people, was also prohibitively expensive for a comprehensive plan.
Personally, I find the use of purple Comic Sans font far more offensive than Turkey Sandwich's question.
If you're used to the way healthcare works in other countries, it's reasonable to assume that a program like Medicaid is the equivalent of public insurance. But it's not. Until the ACA was passed, there simply was no affordable health insurance option for those that fell into the gap between private insurance and Medicaid.
Before the ACA, if you lost employment and therefore, lost your health insurance, you could opt for COBRA, which was prohibitively expensive for many people. If you were employed but didn't have an employer-sponsored health plan, either you went without or looked into private insurance which, for most people, was also prohibitively expensive for a comprehensive plan.
You are making very broad and sweeping statements. I have been purchasing private health insurance for many years and it has been quite affordable. Thankfully my plan is grandfathered and I can keep it (assuming the insurer doesn't eliminate the plan). Plans under the ACA with worse coverage are available at much higher cost for me. This is why I recommend to the OP to buy a plan now that will have grandfathered status in 2014 rather than waiting. FWIW, I'm not that young and in good but not perfect health.
QHShowoman
10-14-2013, 10:57
You are making very broad and sweeping statements. I have been purchasing private health insurance for many years and it has been quite affordable. Thankfully my plan is grandfathered and I can keep it (assuming the insurer doesn't eliminate the plan). Plans under the ACA with worse coverage are available at much higher cost for me. This is why I recommend to the OP to buy a plan now that will have grandfathered status in 2014 rather than waiting. FWIW, I'm not that young and in good but not perfect health.
Note that my post said "many" and "most," but not all.
whisper walking
10-14-2013, 10:57
I don't know if you'll qualify for Medicaid, but I think you should know that whether you work in the US or not, you are taxed on your world wide income. So, your 2013 tax return will reflect the total amount of monies you earned for the year, foreign and domestic. (I work for a major tax prep company)
whisper walking
10-14-2013, 11:01
Turkey Sandwich: Let me add that the world wide income rules apply to US Citizens only.
Turkey Sandwich: Let me add that the world wide income rules apply to US Citizens only.
Even then it depends on the work. Contract workers in Iraq and Afghanistan are mostly tax free up to a fairly high amount.
To the OP. You have lost control of this post. It was hijacked by those who want to vent. This happens frequently here. I think you should contact a moderator and ask to have it all removed. Good luck. Your question is for some other forum...
Personally, I find the use of purple Comic Sans font far more offensive than Turkey Sandwich's question.
If you're used to the way healthcare works in other countries, it's reasonable to assume that a program like Medicaid is the equivalent of public insurance. But it's not. Until the ACA was passed, there simply was no affordable health insurance option for those that fell into the gap between private insurance and Medicaid.
Before the ACA, if you lost employment and therefore, lost your health insurance, you could opt for COBRA, which was prohibitively expensive for many people. If you were employed but didn't have an employer-sponsored health plan, either you went without or looked into private insurance which, for most people, was also prohibitively expensive for a comprehensive plan.
:) Sorry bout the color and the font, there, QH...Is this better?
Yeah, COBRA is expensive -- it's also temporary. I was self-employed, most of my career, since my mid-20s, I'm no movie star or anything, but I always had private insurance. Worked with several other folks in the same situation.
To the OP. You have lost control of this post. It was hijacked by those who want to vent. This happens frequently here. I think you should contact a moderator and ask to have it all removed. Good luck. Your question is for some other forum...
No, he asked a question which was answered and he was given viable alternatives that are legal and ethical. Collecting medicaid isn't ok while on long term vacation.
To the OP. You have lost control of this post. It was hijacked by those who want to vent. This happens frequently here. I think you should contact a moderator and ask to have it all removed. Good luck. Your question is for some other forum...
+1
Considering the fact that folks from all over the world visit this site, I find it fascinating, that mature adults allow their emotions to get the better of them. Generating heat appears to be more important than providing illumination.
Closing at the request of the Original Poster.