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Can someone help me out with medicaid?

NothingIsImpossible

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So I am on medicaid (I'm in Ohio). I am also married and my wife works. If my wife makes to much money would I lose my medicaid? Or will I only lose it if I make to much money? I really want to try working again but if it doesn't go well I want to make sure my medicaid stays on me if my wife finds a new job and makes more money.
 

MorkandMindy

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So I am on medicaid (I'm in Ohio). I am also married and my wife works. If my wife makes to much money would I lose my medicaid? Or will I only lose it if I make to much money? I really want to try working again but if it doesn't go well I want to make sure my medicaid stays on me if my wife finds a new job and makes more money.

There is a table of the maximum income you are allowed to receive and still get Medicaid.

I've been advised by a number of people and filling in the forms gave the same result:

Go one dollar over the limit and you get hit for something like 300 dollars a month for Obama Care Bronze and have a 40% deductible which is limited to you paying about 6,500 a year.

So you might be limited to 15,400 a year (single person), go a dollar over and pay 3,600 for Bronze cover leaving you now with only 11,800 a year.

Use the service and you can easily reach the deductible limit of 6,500 and you now have only 5,300 a year after paying medical costs.

Sounds mad but I've been assured that is the way it works.

I'm going to try to find out more tomorrow.
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NothingIsImpossible

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Yeah they told me between me and my wife we can't go over $1766 a month or I lose medicaid. But it doesn't make sense because she couldn't afford to pay for my insurance. Unless its Obamacare. Even then I'd have to pay for things that I didn't have to before. Well really the problem for me is I want to work or at least try to. I'm nervous to even try for a week or two because they said it would push us over the amount and I'd lose Medicaid. I wish there was a way for them to say "Well you tried working but it didn't work out, so we will re-instate your medicaid!". Because I have major health issues and even one or two months waiting for it again would mean no way to pay for doctors, meds...etc. Meds alone come out to 14k a month without insurance.
 
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PropheticTimes

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I am on Ohio Medicaid as well. Unfortunately the system is broken, as it punishes you for trying to get on your feet. I have struggled with what you are struggling with for many years and this is the conclusion that I have found to be best for me -

If I try to work, I am punished for it, including reduction in SSI and removal of Medicaid. Even part time work can cause serious backlash in my ability to survive. Personally, I decided to not work, as it would take a full time job of decent wages to even match the coverage I have through Medicaid, and I do not have the qualifications for such a job. With my medications and regular visits to various doctors, I literally cannot afford to lose it.

It's a shame that the system is not designed to help us become more self reliant.
 
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MorkandMindy

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Yeah they told me between me and my wife we can't go over $1766 a month or I lose medicaid. But it doesn't make sense because she couldn't afford to pay for my insurance. Unless its Obamacare.

I have no significant health problems but going above 15,400 dollars (31 hours per week averaged out) would require me to join Obamacare which would leave me with 74% of my present pay, if I didn't incur any medical charges.

Almost any significant use would lose me the whole deductible and then I would get 35% of my existing pay, 65% would go on Bronze Care.


I could work more hours to cover the cost of Bronze Care which comes out (at max deductible) to 20 hours a week averaged out. If I worked 31 hours plus the 20 hours to pay Bronze Care plus some more for the higher taxes, about 58 hours a week, I would get as much as on 31 hours a week.

Yes, I understand Obamacare gives better coverage at a good price than anything commercially available, but it isn't particularly affordable.

If there is a way out of this problem I'd really like to hear about it.
 
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NothingIsImpossible

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Yeah, the system feels like a prison with really high walls. Being married my wife works but she can't make over $12 an hour or she comes very close to me losing my medicaid. And of course with that amount I will lose all my food stamps and most of my SSI. And while many are like "Well shes working so you don't need it!". Well try being married and only have on job going. The world is not a cheap place to live. $700-$1100 rent. A couple hundred for utilities. Phone line cost. Public Transportation (since buying a car, gasing it, maintaining it is to much money). Buying food to live on. Health insurance, this insurance, that insurance. And then you get into the other issues like if you need new clothes, new whatever. And since there are two of you the cost goes up more. At least we have thrift stores we can go to. And the hardest part is when your wife wants a baby but you know you can barley afford to live with just the two of you.

Actually I don't want SSI or food stamps anymore. But my medicaid is important. If I work even if only for two weeks, I risk losing medicaid. Without I wouldn't last long. Seizures, nasty non stop migraines, vision issues that disrupt living, kidney failure, heart issues...etc.

Yeah Obamacare doesn't seem to much help to anyone. My wife is finally on it. Its not a bad package but the cost of prescriptions is crazy. Thankfully no copays, $300 deductible. $48 a month (well before her job ended part time) Though I don't understand what a deductible is. Does that mean if we go to a doctor and the bill is over $300, we have to make up the rest? I want Obamacare to end. But at the same time she has never seen a primary or OB/Gyn in her life. And she has her own health issues.

We do live at home, but my parents can't afford us which is why we pay so much in rent, utilities, food...etc. Ugh. Moving out is something people say we should do, but we can't afford to even though we want to move.
 
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MorkandMindy

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Greetings!

Don't blame yourself for things you have no control over. I'm not totally sure why the system has been set up the way it has, but you have to fit in with it.

In other countries finance is generally about rates, like in England if you go above the SSI level you lose 1 dollar for each 2 dollars you go over, so at some figure well above poverty you finally aren't getting any SSI at all.

Here in the US rates are not used, it is all a huge sudden penalty.

My nephew went to the emergency room twice due to panic attacks. Due to his low income the fee was reduced from the original 17,000 to 7,000 dollars for the two visits. A health insurance company would have been charged about 2,000 dollars, but the hospitals can set the prices against individuals and they do. It turned out he just made it under the threshold for Medicaid so the treatment was free to him and not too disastrously expensive for the government as they have a lot of bargaining power.


At 38% above the poverty line you suddenly lose Medicaid and end up with normal use of the medical profession, way below the poverty level, a third of the income required to reach the poverty line. Crazy.
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seekingjoy

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Hi @NothingIsImpossible! A deductible is what you have to meet with medical services/expenses before your insurance company will pay. So in your case, your insurance plan won't pay for anything until you've paid $300 worth.

Does your state have any type of program that rewards you for finding employment? I'm in NC, where you can receive up to a year of "transitional medicaid" if you start new employment while receiving a Medicaid program. It gives you a year to try and find private insurance, basically. I wonder if Ohio has the same? I would call DSS and ask! But to answer your original question, income responsibility for Medicaid is spouse to spouse, so your wife's income does count for you.
 
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NothingIsImpossible

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There are no reward programs here that I know have. However I did recently talk to my lawyer who got me on SSI and he said it was setup so even if I work I would not lose my medicaid (well unless I chose regular insurance) since my disabilities are life long and I could not survive without it. So he talked to the county and they now told me when I work, no matter how much I make I cannot lose Medicaid. I will lose SSI and other assistance of course. But thats fine since money I make will make up for that.
 
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