Health Insurance After Being Laid Off

Have you looked into Medi-Cal? You may be able to at least cover your kids, and then cover only yourself through your job. You can google Medi-Cal or start here: http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/individuals/Pages/Steps-to-Medi-Ca...

Your family would be eligible for cobra coverage however its very expensive since the employer doesn't pay anything toward the cost so you pay 102% of the premium (2% administration fee). They have 30 days to send you the paperwork offering cobra and then you have 30 days to decide whether to take it or not.

At this point you can look into coverage through the state to see if the kids would be able to get medical coverage. Your hubby needs to start looking for a job asap and you should think about your options for employment since it sounds like you work part time.

call your state medical board and get pointed in the right direction. they'll be able to help you far more than anyone here.

i see the usual suspect and her sock puppet are in tandem trashing the ACA, which is not and never has been perfect. and of course, the nothing that the GOP proposed before and since is exactly......
nothing.

COBRA is an option but horribly expensive.

set aside an obnoxious amount of time (you'll be on endless hold) and get your state to help you figure out the next step.
khairete
S.

This is considered a covered life event (I'm paraphrasing, basically if there's a big change in your life circumstances like having a baby or losing your job)under the ACA, so you should be able to sign up for coverage on the website even though the open enrollment time is over.

wait - you were going to file for divorce...now you're not???

yeah the ACA isn't so affordable is it? Truly sorry you are going through this.

COBRA - your husband should get COBRA while he is unemployed .
Talk with your benefits department and ensure the costs are correct.
Shop around for other coverage. See if you can save any money.

Have your husband file for unemployment.
Make sure his resume is up to date and grammatically correct - no spelling errors and get it out. Go to Monster, Indeed, Linkedin, CareerBuilder, etc. and start looking for jobs.

Do you have savings?
Do you own your home?
Do you have a 401K you can borrow against?
How long do you think it will be for him to find a job?

Don't panic. Don't fight. This is a VERY stressful time. My husband was unemployed for 11 months from 2011 to 2012 - can't tell you the stress we were under. Well - yeah - you'll understand it.

Coupon. Make meals. Cut back wherever you can. Talk with your current doctor - even Kaiser - and see if they can help you with a subsidy or some type of program. You won't know until you ask.

Good luck!

Start here: https://www.coveredca.com/
Someone at Kaiser may also be able to point you in the right direction, call the 800# on your card and see if they can help.
Good luck, I hope your husband finds another job soon!

Hello, I am not in California so I cant really say what would work for you, at least for now. When I lost my job, we got Medicaid. My boys have very expensive medical needs and I really was worried about getting coverage. The social worker at their doctor's office helped a lot with sorting things out and figuring out what was available.

When my mom lost her health insurance after being work reduced to part time - because she was having serious health issues! - she ended up finding an ACA plan on Healthcare . gov that was even more affordable than her employer based care. Loss of coverage like you husband has is a qualifying event, so check that out. Sometimes in the case of families, adults are enrolled while kids are directed to the state's Medicaid (Medi-Cal?). The options are very location-dependent though. Where my mom lives there are tons of coverage options, while other areas of the country might have one or two.

Your soon-to-be-ex husband's former company should have given him a COBRA package.

I agree with another, that "affordable care act" isn't so affordable, is it? Sorry you are going through this. It sucks. My family is lucky, we will always be covered by Tri-Care for Life due to my husband's service in the USAF. It's not the best, but it's affordable.

Call your local welfare office and ask about state sponsored medical programs.
Call your HR Benefits department and find out the lowest plan they have that will work for your family.

Apply for a new job with better benefits.
Ensure your soon-to-be exhusband is filing for every job he is qualified for and for unemployment.

Everyone is talking about COBRA and they should however, you have to pay for COBRA and its not cheap. Your husband will receive information from his employer's COBRA provider. Be sure to be on the outlook for that. It will generally be in a generic white envelop so be sure to review all mail.

Make sure his resume is up to date. Have him get in touch and network with others. LinkedIn is a good source. Also, indeed.com is a good source for job openings as well.

I'm sorry you are going through this. This is stressful for everyone.

I'm sorry you're going through this.

Your husband's company (HR department) should have given him options and info re COBRA coverage. Maybe they didn't, but they are required to. You can continue with your current plan, yes at full premium, but you won't be without coverage. If you only do it for a month or two while you get set on other programs, fine. You can quit it anytime.

Most major hospitals have a staff of social workers who help community members with info on how to navigate the state's system (through the Exchange or whatever you have). My husband was hospitalized, and the social worker came to the room to discuss a variety of issues, and she kind of knew the math off the top of her head (what people qualify for, what they don't qualify for if they make too much in Social Security, etc.). She's the one who told me that their department is open to anyone. This was a UMass affiliated hospital, so you could see what's around you through the Univ. of California for starters. Otherwise, any major community based hospital should be able to point you in the right direction.

What's the low income program in CA? In Massachusetts, we have Mass Health for those who are low income. It covers incredible things - a friend is a single mom who lost her job, and she has a special needs kid among her 2 kids, plus she has diabetes and depression and asthma (so lots of meds). She says the coverage is amazing. She also has patched together a program of food stamps, the local food pantry, and more to make ends meet while she networks and interviews for another job and sues her ex husband for back child support.

Here's another underutilized resource: your Congress Member's office (for federal programs such as Medicaid - maybe your kids qualify) or your state senator/legislator (for state programs). They work for you, remember! Sometimes a phone call from one of their offices can pave the way for you at various agencies.

You're lucky you're in CA - you should have options! Good luck and start making those phone calls!

Apply for health care through the state.

There should also be low income clinics around where the amount you pay is based on your income. This way even if you're paying cash for a doc visit it won't be the whole amount, it might be 20%-30% or something like that. Probably under $50 for an office call.