Ineligible for my works health insurance because they go by 6 months instead of 12 months. What should I do?

[phyz1x]

So I've been at my job for 3 years now, I work 5 days a week, sometimes 6 if I pick up a shift. I am server and the winter months we do work less, though I also pick up shifts when available as well. This is the 2nd year where I didn't qualify by .x hours, not even a full hour. I tallied up all my hours for the whole year and I average 30 hours but they do it by 6 months and I only average 29.x. is there anything I could do because I feel like they can cherry pick whatever 6 months I work the least and get away with it.

 

[gregbax]

@phyz1x ACA marketplace insurance

 

[perryac]

@phyz1x They are probably tracking and making sure you don’t have enough hrs to qualify

 

[lotus1991]

@phyz1x When you lost your health insurance that would have been a qualifying life event which meant you could enroll in the marketplace. As it appears you lost insurance a while ago you can't enroll in AC until OE or. you have another QLE. There are short term health plans available but I am not knowledgeable about them. Do you qualify for Medicaid?

 

[phyz1x]

@lotus1991 I didn't lose, I never qualified because of the same thing last year. I thought it was just a mistake so I just waited for the next year and same thing happened. And no, don't qualify for anything.

 

[jander8629]

@phyz1x When was the last time you had health insurance?

 

[phyz1x]

@jander8629 March 2020. I qualified starting April that year and the pandemic happened, was on furlough because I had health insurance. Got this job in 2021 but because I worked at this company before, there was this period I had to wait before I can start getting any benefits. So I had to brush 2021/2022 off so I expected it in 2023 but didn't qualify and now I didn't again, by .(x) hours.

 

[tftn5280]

@phyz1x I think the answer here is to get insurance through the Marketplace, then if you ever become eligible for employer coverage which meets ACA requirements you can move to employer coverage at that point. If you subsequently lose ACA compliant employer coverage you can take out insurance through the Marketplace quickly as you'll have a short special enrollment period.

Right now though, you'd need to go to https://www.healthcare.gov/screener/ and see if you qualify for anything outside of the marketplace open enrollment period.

If you don't qualify for anything, start the process of registering with an FQHC near you at https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/. FQHCs receive additional government funding allowing them to perform an income assessment on you and reduce their fees on a sliding scale so it should be affordable for you. Then as soon as open enrollment starts again (or you become eligible for a special enrollment period) get on healthcare.gov and buy something (probably a silver plan) ASAP.