Health insurance suggestions

[Angeleyes7715]

My new pharmacy job doesn't give employees insurance until one year of work.

I qualify for medicaid but they give so much paperwork and have so many hoops i literally don't have time and can't get all the information they want.

I really need health insurance and was wondering if anyone has suggestions on what to do.

I live in the United States and the initial deductible is about like $500 or more before you can even get the coverage with health insurances.

Help

The only thing I thought of was just trying to get more hours at work to be able to afford health insurance cause I don't have time to fight to get medicaid.

 

[dreadnought]

My new pharmacy job doesn't give employees insurance until one year of work.

I qualify for medicaid but they give so much paperwork and have so many hoops i literally don't have time and can't get all the information they want.

I really need health insurance and was wondering if anyone has suggestions on what to do.

I live in the United States and the initial deductible is about like $500 or more before you can even get the coverage with health insurances.

Help

The only thing I thought of was just trying to get more hours at work to be able to afford health insurance cause I don't have time to fight to get medicaid.

For better or worse, I always had a high deductible till February, when I went on Medicare.

 

[JAM2b]

I go a non-profit clinic with a connection to the Catholic Church and a hospital and medical system that is also funded by Catholic charities. I'm not Catholic but they offer services to everyone who ask. They accept all insurances, medicaid, medicare, and if someone does not have insurance they have a sliding scale fee based on income. I can see my doctor for 20.00. If I don't have money to pay they will see me anyway and continue to treat me with an outstanding balance as long as I pay at least a small amount each month, literally at least 5.00.

If I were you I would look for a similar facility like that in your area. Sometimes state or university hospitials will offer medical services at a reduced rate or sliding scale system.

 

[dysert]

My new pharmacy job doesn't give employees insurance until one year of work.

I qualify for medicaid but they give so much paperwork and have so many hoops i literally don't have time and can't get all the information they want.

I really need health insurance and was wondering if anyone has suggestions on what to do.

I live in the United States and the initial deductible is about like $500 or more before you can even get the coverage with health insurances.

Help

The only thing I thought of was just trying to get more hours at work to be able to afford health insurance cause I don't have time to fight to get medicaid.

Did you have insurance before? If so, you can probably keep it under COBRA - if you can afford it; it's quite expensive.

 

[συνείδησις]

Have you considered one of the health cost sharing ministries? Here's one I'm thinking about joining
http://www.chministries.org

 

[drjean]

I agree, Medishare has good reviews imo https://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/

Now as for medicaid... I would think that all you had to do was express a need to them that you need assistance in getting the paperwork done. There are workshops for medicare.... but perhaps not... is there someone knowledgeable in your church (ask the pastor).

 

[dqhall]

My new pharmacy job doesn't give employees insurance until one year of work.

I qualify for medicaid but they give so much paperwork and have so many hoops i literally don't have time and can't get all the information they want.

I really need health insurance and was wondering if anyone has suggestions on what to do.

I live in the United States and the initial deductible is about like $500 or more before you can even get the coverage with health insurances.

Help

The only thing I thought of was just trying to get more hours at work to be able to afford health insurance cause I don't have time to fight to get medicaid.

Check Obamacare.

 

[Angeleyes7715]

Good suggestions everyone. I do have sliding scale but I worry about getting a fine for no insurance and also I have prescriptions that are expensive. Even with a discount card still costs $60

 

[Angeleyes7715]

And I understand how to fill out the paperwork it's literally more like I can not get the information from employers cause their he department is basically invisible that and paperwork takes weeks to get back can reach anyone and for like 4 different jobs trying to track down hr and have them mail all my files is nearly impossible. I was also unemployed for a few weeks once so I have to get them to send paperwork as well which has to go via snail mail :/

 

[dysert]

Good suggestions everyone. I do have sliding scale but I worry about getting a fine for no insurance and also I have prescriptions that are expensive. Even with a discount card still costs $60

Iirc, the part of Obamacare that was eliminated by Trump was the idea that you'd have to pay a fine for not being insured. So you don't need to worry about that piece. Is your discount card from GoodRx? If not, try GoodRx. I have some expensive prescriptions, and GoodRx has saved me more money than anything else. Finally, if you're fortunate enough to live around multiple different pharmacies, call each one and see how much they charge for each of your prescriptions. I was amazed to learn that different pharmacies charge different prices for the same prescription.

 

[JAM2b]

You can file for an exemption on healthcare so that you won't get a fine due to financial hardship. Also, if you don't file for an exemption and can explain when you file you income taxes that you were unable to comply because of cost and other reason, they will waive the fine.

I applied at healthcare.gov and was denied because my income was too low and told to apply for Medicaid. Medicaid denied me because my income was too high. The reason for this is because ACA does not count child support as part of income and assets, but our state Medicaid does.

There have been several years that I have not had insurance, but I have never had to pay the fine because I can't afford insurance.

 

[dysert]

You can file for an exemption on healthcare so that you won't get a fine due to financial hardship. Also, if you don't file for an exemption and can explain when you file you income taxes that you were unable to comply because of cost and other reason, they will waive the fine.

I applied at healthcare.gov and was denied because my income was too low and told to apply for Medicaid. Medicaid denied me because my income was too high. The reason for this is because ACA does not count child support as part of income and assets, buy our state Medicaid does.

There have been several years that I have not had insurance, but I have never had to pay the fine because I can't afford insurance.

Good catch. The penalty is actually going to be eliminated *next* year (with the filing of 2019 taxes).

Editor’s Note: The new tax law eliminated the Affordable Care Act (ACA) penalty, beginning with 2019 tax returns filed in 2020.

from https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/irs/tax-reform/tax-reform-affordable-care-act/

 

[JAM2b]

I have heard of people ordering their prescriptions from Canada. I don't know how that work or if there are stipulations. It could be something to check into.

 

[dreadnought]

Good suggestions everyone. I do have sliding scale but I worry about getting a fine for no insurance and also I have prescriptions that are expensive. Even with a discount card still costs $60

I think they did away with the fine, either for this year or for next year.

 

[dysert]

I think they did away with the fine, either for this year or for next year.

See post #12

 

[dreadnought]

See post #12

Thanks.

 

[Angeleyes7715]

You can file for an exemption on healthcare so that you won't get a fine due to financial hardship. Also, if you don't file for an exemption and can explain when you file you income taxes that you were unable to comply because of cost and other reason, they will waive the fine.

I applied at healthcare.gov and was denied because my income was too low and told to apply for Medicaid. Medicaid denied me because my income was too high. The reason for this is because ACA does not count child support as part of income and assets, but our state Medicaid does.

There have been several years that I have not had insurance, but I have never had to pay the fine because I can't afford insurance.

Thank you! And to everyone else thank you also. What do you do if you need scripts or to go to the Dr? I'm just gonna pay for my medication out of pocket and I can't decide whether it's worth it to try to buy private insurance since I have a lot of health problems to deal with frequently....

 

[JAM2b]

I just go to the non-profit clinic or Catholic hospital emergency room if it is bad enough. Sometimes they have programs that offer assistance with prescriptions. One time son was prescribed an inhaler, but I couldn't afford to get it. I took him back to the clinic and told the doctor I didn't get it because I didn't have enough money. They gave it to us for free right there in the clinic. It wasn't a trial size either, but a full size canister.

Sometimes other charity and community organizations can help with prescriptions. There have been instances when I have told a pastor that I couldn't afford medicine and he had it paid for with church funds. I don't know how this would work with regular medications, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Prescriptions in Canada are supposed to be less expensive, but I've never tried to order them from there so I don't know the details about it.

 

[dysert]

I can't decide whether it's worth it to try to buy private insurance since I have a lot of health problems to deal with frequently

That's always a tough call because you don't know what the future will bring. For me, I'm glad I have insurance because it has a max out-of-pocket amount, and I've already hit it for this year (I obviously have a lot of health problems too). That means that for the rest of the year, no matter what happens, I don't have to worry about paying out more money.