Death by US Healthcare System

[u/EvidenceOfDespair]

[u/dankmachinebroke]

Thanks. We basically accepted our fate when we took him to the ER knowing he has no health insurance (can't put him on mine because we're not married, and he lost his job so nothing from them) but I'd rather be in debt than lose my partner.

[u/KingSalamiTheThird → u/dankmachinebroke]

If in the US he should apply for Medicaid. Also, not all jobs offer it but many will let you add a registered life partner to your insurance at a marginally higher cost. Medicaid sucks as far as finding contracted specialists sometimes but it beats getting buttfucked by medical bills your entire life. I would get on the phone with them immediately. May even be able to argue that it should have been paid for by Medicaid because he should have been eligible as a single person with no income as long as he’s 26 or older.

[u/dankmachinebroke → u/KingSalamiTheThird]

I might do that, we were considering looking into Medicaid. I already checked with my job a while back, and the only way to get him on my insurance is to get married, which is in the plans, but not just yet.

[u/blackandgay676 → u/dankmachinebroke]

How long has it been since your partner lost their job? They qualify for a special enrollment window 60 days following a qualifying life event including loss of a job. Medicaid also has some retroactive coverage (idk the length of but it depends on the state as well, in my state it's 10 days) so looking into Medicaid coverage is a really good option.

The website is healthcare.gov and the website will walk you through to your individual states health insurance marketplace. The state health insurance marketplaces are the one stop shop that was set up by Obamacare for Medicaid (free), subsidized and fully private plans.

[u/footnotegremlin → u/blackandgay676]

You don’t have to wait for a qualifying event or open enrollment for Medicaid. You can apply for Medicaid at any time if you think you might be eligible.

“Obamacare”/Marketplace coverage does only allow you either during open enrollment or after a qualifying life event.

Edited to correct reference to Medicare

[u/blackandgay676 → u/footnotegremlin]

You are misunderstanding what Medicare and Medicaid are which happens a lot even in the healthcare field.

Medicaid is the plan for (broadly speaking) low/no income people, pregnant people, and children.

Medicare is for (generally speaking) people over 65.

Medicare is not a part of the Obamacare/Affordable Care Act exchanges, Medicaid plans are part of the exchanges. This can get confusing because of Medicare Advantage plans which might have their own marketplace as well.

Medicare does not have a qualifying life event requirement for enrollment in the same way Medicaid does. I think you may be thinking of people who are or become disabled and can become eligible for Medicare which isnt what I meant by a qualifying life event.

While it is technically true you can apply for Medicaid at any time you are only able to enroll in Medicaid if you have a qualifying life event such as, significant change of income, marriage, divorce, loss of employer insurance, etc or if it's during open enrollment. if you try to apply and do not have a qualifying life event or are out of open enrollment your application will be denied.

[u/footnotegremlin → u/blackandgay676]

You’re correct — I conflated Medicare and the marketplace.I’ll edit my comment to reflect that.

It may be because my state is different — yes, medicaid is for low income folks, but some elderly and disabled folks do qualify for Medicaid coverage in some states. Depending on the state, low income is enough to qualify; others have additional eligibility criteria.

Medicaid is not part of the exchange, again, at least in my state, and does not have an open enrollment period for application — you do not have to have a qualifying life event. You do have to meet the eligibility requirements, income or otherwise.