Are you too Poor for Obamacare?

Yes, you can be too poor or not make enough to qualify for a subsidy and apply for “Obamacare”.  If you are in a state that didn’t expand Medicaid, such as Texas, and you make less than $11,490 annual income you make less than 100% of of the poverty level.  In this case, you will not be eligible for a subsidy or credit towards your insurance.  In addition, you may not qualify for Medicaid – income alone doesn’t make you eligible.  Check your local state Medicaid office for qualifications if your income is less than 100% of the poverty level.

If you fall into this category, there are some options out there:

1.  Short term medical – It won’t cover pre-existing conditions, doctor visits and will probably only give a discount for prescriptions, however there are generally only 5 health questions to answer so most people qualify.  You can purchase this plan after March 31, 2014 (the annual enrollment cut-off date) and you can purchase a plan for 1-12 months.  They run anywhere from $100-$300/ individual depending on age, smoking, and location.  There is normally a $20-$35 application fee to apply.

2.  Limited medical insurance – These plans generally don’t have any qualifying questions to ask, so everyone can qualify.  They normally pay so much per doctor visit, or per day in the hospital.  If you use the network tied to them you get a deep discount on your service, or you can go out of network and pay more out of pocket.  These plans run anywhere from $250-$350 / individual depending on your location.  The is normally a $50-$99 application fee to apply which is non-refundable.

3. Discount Plan – You will be able to get a large discount on doctor visits, surgeries and certain procedures, prescriptions, even dental and vision with these plans.  They are not insurance, so they do not pay anything.  You must go to a participating doctor to receive the discount at the time of visit.  There is no claim filing.  These plans cost anywhere from $12-$90/ individual depending on the plan.  There may be an application fee of $20-$30.

Read more stories on people not qualifying for Obamacare here.

“Obamacare” is not an insurance plan.  Obama is the President who set forth the laws of the Affordable Care Act in which all insurance companies had to abide by.  Each company had to make an ACA compliant policy to sell on or off the marketplace.  The plans did not have to be the same.  So if you go to healthcare.gov you may not be seeing all the plans that are available in your area.   You can use a licensed agent to assist in the process who can give you more details than what you see online at the marketplace and  also can make the process  a lot easier to choose just by asking some simple questions.

If you need help enrolling in Obamacare, or to see if you qualify for a subsidy click here

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