I got laid off on April 3, 2024, and my employer health insurance ends this month. I went to Covered California to find an affordable plan, but after entering my income—including what I earned so far this year, my severance, bonus, and expected unemployment—I’m at around $70,000 for the year. Because of that, the cheapest plan I see is $400 a month, and it only goes up from there.
I’ll only be getting about $1,800 a month on unemployment, so I don’t understand why I have to pay for a plan based on income I made before losing my job. My therapist suggested I see if I can appeal, but I’m not sure how that works.
I need coverage starting in May, and I’ll only be making $1,800 per month at that point. It feels strange that I have to pay for insurance based on money I made months ago.
Is there any way around this, or do I just have to deal with it because of how the system calculates income? Last time I was unemployed in 2016, I only paid $2 a month for insurance, but I was making a lot less back then.
If your unemployment puts your monthly income under 138% of the federal poverty level, you might qualify for Medi-Cal. The problem is that Covered California bases everything on your annual income, not what you’re making right now.
Zephyr said: @Neely
I looked into Medi-Cal, but it also seems to go by annual income, so I wouldn’t qualify.
That’s not true. Medi-Cal looks at your current monthly income. If you had a high-paying job but now have zero or low income, you should qualify. Go to Covered California and enter what you’re actually making now.
Zephyr said: @Adler
I don’t see any way to enter just my current income. Everything I’ve read says it’s based on annual income.
Try adjusting your estimated annual income based on what you expect to make the rest of the year. If you’re only getting unemployment, estimate that amount for the rest of the year instead of including your past salary.
Lilnim said:
The $400 per month sounds right for someone with a $70K annual income. Health insurance costs are designed to take about 9% of your income.
That’s 9% of my past income but 20% of what I’ll actually be getting on unemployment. It doesn’t make sense that they don’t factor in the drop in income.
Lilnim said: @Zephyr
Yeah, that’s the issue with how they calculate it. If you don’t have savings, it can be really tough to pay for insurance while between jobs.
It’s not just that I don’t have savings, it’s that my industry has had massive layoffs, so finding a new job quickly isn’t exactly easy.
Joss said:
Have you looked into COBRA? It might be expensive, but it keeps your same doctors and coverage.
COBRA would cost me about $800 a month, and it’s a high-deductible plan. My therapist isn’t even covered under it, so I might as well switch to something cheaper.
Alex said:
Any updates? I’m in a similar situation.
Unfortunately, I just had to go with a $450 plan. There was no way to report income monthly—everything is based on annual earnings. I also applied for food assistance and only got $20 a month in benefits, which is wild given my low unemployment income.
Same situation here—our family’s Covered California plan is $1,500 a month, which leaves almost nothing after unemployment benefits. There needs to be some flexibility when people lose their jobs.