Is @Snikelfritz’s avatar his cat?
Which Urban Dictionary meaning corresponds to his ID?
What drink won’t I regret adding to a stomach full of coconut shrimp?
Go with a Chardonnay!!! Seafood is light and you want some acid to offset the fat!!
I don’t think we have any.
I think the problem is I want the effect of alcohol without ingesting it.
Oooooooh!!! Ooooooooh!!! Margaritas!!! 
Slather yourself in hand sanitizer?
First Google picture of my ID, couldn’t find that animated cat I used before (plus I hear it was from a racist show so better to avoid anyway)
Did you find a solution (no pun intended)?
Are there any health actuaries (or PPACA-knowledgeable non-health-actuaries) who could answer a few questions for me?
I’m trying to help a low-income friend out. But she’s low-income because she works part time. She has assets.
Specifically:
- Do you qualify for PTC and CSR if your income is in Medicaid range but you have assets? I’m assuming that the asset test that old people have to meet to qualify for Medicaid for the purpose of getting into a nursing home actually applies to all Medicaid recipients, does it not?
When I Google I get info on Medicaid spend-down plans, and when I look at exchange info it says “you qualify for Medicaid” without asking about assets.
- If you file your taxes as HOH because your kid lives with you more than half the time, but you won’t be covering the kid on your insurance, do you count the kid when determining the percent of FPL? When I dork around on healthcare.gov if I say there’s a kid then it uses a 2-person FPL, but only shows me family plans. What about an individual plan for a person in a 2-person household? And will this impact how the CSRs work?
Thanks in advance!
In my expanded Medicaid state, asset questions only apply to those filing for long term supports and services (LTSS). The “regular” Medicaid that low-income people qualify for based on income doesn’t have asset questions, which I believe is due to expansion under ACA. Under 133% FPL equals qualify, regardless of assets, which is how people can use Medicaid as their early retirement health care if they are willing to keep their income that low (lots of FI blogs go over this). The “regular” Medicaid benefits only cover 90 days of LTSS, so if a person needs more LTSS than this (nursing facilities or home and community based services (HCBS)) they have to apply for the LTSS program which does have asset rules, Medicaid spend-down, 5 year look back, etc.
Every state is different though, the saying is “if you’ve seen one Medicaid program, you’ve seen one Medicaid program”.
I think the only consistent piece is that the ACA got rid of the asset questions for expanded Medicaid, but not every state has expanded.
1 Like
Ah, that is very helpful indeed. So if my friend is under 133% of FPL then she’s forced into Medicaid.
I had no idea the asset test was only for LTSS. This is very helpful.
Next question (more philosophical than anything) is does my friend want to be on Medicaid?
Her income is right around the 133% mark but it’s based off an estimate, I believe. So she could estimate just over 133% or just under 133% and be fairly close. Also, here it will greatly matter whether she counts the kid, who’s covered on Dad’s insurance, to determine the applicable FPL.
That depends on her state, I think. I don’t know if the state’s medicaid website lists the participating health plans to be able to check networks (assuming the state uses managed care and not straight fee for service), or whether the website lists covered benefits. States cover different benefits, for instance, some states cover adult dental, while others do not, and others cover it only for specific populations (pregnant women, for instance), or only emergency dental. The benefits and networks if available, can/should be compared to the ACA plans she is considering. She can look at ACA plans without applying, by estimating her income (just above that 133 FPL limit).
She’s in Ohio and makes around $20,000, part time. Would Ohio maybe be 138% FPL for Medicaid rather than 133%? That’s what I’m seeing on FPL charts for Ohio.
Her income is over 138% for 1-person, but under for 2 people.
But she has some flexibility to work more or fewer hours if that is beneficial either way.
I found 2 audiobooks that I’ve been interested in on my library’s system. I need to decide which of them to start on the long drive I’ll be making* (about 11 hours total, my wife will probably take over for a couple hours).
The Handmaid’s Tale (I haven’t seen the show): ~11 hours, so will get through most of it on the trip.
American Gods: ~20 hours - might be able to finish on the trip home, if not, I’ll finish at some point.
Any recommendations?
*Note: conversation and such isn’t really an option - we are doing the trip overnight.
Podcasts? Material can be taken in much smaller chunks.
I’ve been listening to:
The Magnus Archives. Kinda like a bunch of Twilight Zones with a horror feel and an over-arching plot to tie them all together.
Hardcore History. “King of Kings” a three part series about ancient kings in the MIddle East with a bent toward the military histroy of them. 3 podcasts over about 13 hours. “Celtic Holocaust” about the Roman foray into Europe. “Supernova in the East” Japan’s military history from the 19th century on. 16 hours across 4 podcasts. He’s got a 12-hour one on Ghengis Khan. I could (and have) listen to that guy talk for hours.
99% Invisible. Started off as an architecture podcast, but has expanded into short (15-30 mins) podcasts on all manner of science-ish topics. Recently I learned about bar codes, and the guy who drew all the backgrounds of the Looney Tunes cartoon among other things.
Time Suck. Comedian Dan Cummins does an in-depth show on historical topics. Mostly serial killers and cults, but also mainstream stuff like Alexander the Great or the Middle Ages or Walt Disney or the Columbine tragedy. His humour takes getting used to, but I really enjoy his stuff.
That would work too - but it’s going to be one of those 2 books. I’m just asking for thoughts on which one.
Who is reading each of the audiobooks?
Handmaids Tale: Betty Harris
American Gods: George Guidall
I don’t know why I asked, but maybe that would help you decide which one you’d rather listen to for many hours.
It’s been years since I read either of these books.
Handmaid’s Tale feels slightly more “important” or “serious” maybe, while American Gods would probably be more “entertaining.” For an overnight trip, that might nudge me toward Gaiman, but YMMV.
I think I’m going to go with American Gods. Thanks for the input.