How can my well-to-do friend qualify for Medical? (insurance, house)

[maiamom]

My friend and her husband live in California, one child, friend is a stay at home mom.

Her husband got laid off two months ago and they've been collecting unemployment. For the summer he put aside the job hunt so they could vacation. Friend and husband are in their 40's, not disabled, etc,

When I told my friend about Cobra insurance, she scoffed and said it's "too expensive". The thing is, friend owns her own home outright, their 401k is big (she told me this), and recently she inherited $950k from her mother that she invested.

So when she told me that they got on Medical I was shocked. Aren't there rules for this? How can someone who has so many assets qualify? When I heard this I have to admit it made me angry that taxpayers are paying for their medical coverage while they spend their money on Hawaiian vacations. I know I need to let it go as it's none of my business, but just wondering how this can happen.

[RosieSD]

Under Obamacare, eligibility is based on income, not assets. And, being unemployed triggers "special circumstances" in income that make a family eligible based on the number of people in the family.

See:

Bye-Bye Medicaid Asset Test* | The Incidental Economist

https://www.legalconsumer.com/obamac...picID=53&ST=CA

[maiamom]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

Under Obamacare, eligibility is based on income, not assets. And, being unemployed triggers "special circumstances" in income that make a family eligible based on the number of people in the family.

See:

Bye-Bye Medicaid Asset Test* | The Incidental Economist

https://www.legalconsumer.com/obamac...picID=53&ST=CA

Wow, thanks for this information. While it's true that most people who are laid off and have little income probably don't have assets, I am amazed that they did away with the asset test. It doesn't seem right that you can have over a million in assets yet qualify for Medicaid.

[Mr5150]

The way you qualify for Medi-Cal with those kind of assets is to lie.

Their house is exempt.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by maiamom

My friend and her husband live in California, one child, friend is a stay at home mom.

Her husband got laid off two months ago and they've been collecting unemployment. For the summer he put aside the job hunt so they could vacation. Friend and husband are in their 40's, not disabled, etc,

When I told my friend about Cobra insurance, she scoffed and said it's "too expensive". The thing is, friend owns her own home outright, their 401k is big (she told me this), and recently she inherited $950k from her mother that she invested.

So when she told me that they got on Medical I was shocked. Aren't there rules for this? How can someone who has so many assets qualify? When I heard this I have to admit it made me angry that taxpayers are paying for their medical coverage while they spend their money on Hawaiian vacations. I know I need to let it go as it's none of my business, but just wondering how this can happen.

This is also not good as you get unemployment while you loo for work. It isn't to help pay for your vacation.

[BRinSM]

I was laid off and my kids were covered by Medi-Cal, but my wife and I were not initially. Eventually this was changed as well and we now are working on getting premiums reimbursed from the time I was out of work. Premiums were expensive, but luckily we had a safety net. I'm glad I'm getting the money back, but I had already written that money off. Your friends clearly don't need the benefit, just as I didn't, but it does help relieve a lot of the pressure caused by the expense of healthcare.

[maiamom]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

The way you qualify for Medi-Cal with those kind of assets is to lie.

Their house is exempt.

I found the website for Medical and entered the information. There was a place to put assets and it showed they would not qualify. So I think they probably lied or inadvertently "forgot" to put that information down. Unless there is a different place to apply for benefits? Again, it's not my business but it just really surprised me they would qualify.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by maiamom

I found the website for Medical and entered the information. There was a place to put assets and it showed they would not qualify. So I think they probably lied or inadvertently "forgot" to put that information down. Unless there is a different place to apply for benefits? Again, it's not my business but it just really surprised me they would qualify.

People lie to get government benefits? Color me shocked!

[maiamom]

Originally Posted by shooting4life

People lie to get government benefits? Color me shocked!

Am I naive in thinking that such lies would be really easy to figure out? I mean, if you have money in investments in say Scottrade or whatever couldn't that be checked with a social security number? It's like California is dying to give handouts.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by expatCA

This is also not good as you get unemployment while you loo for work. It isn't to help pay for your vacation.

I see you expect people to play by the rules young grasshopper.