Healthcare after 26 in MA options?
TLDR: Girlfriend and I just moved in together. We turn 26 this year and will lose our parent's health insurance. She does not qualify for health insurance from her employer, and my employer only covers legally married spouses (not domestic partners). Short of finding a new job that will get her coverage, what are our options here?
Hi Everyone,
My girlfriend and I moved in together in the last few months. We live in Massachusetts. Both of us are 25 and on our parent's health insurance for now. She will be turning 26 before me, and we are trying to figure out how to make sure she has health insurance when that happens.
She has a number of prescriptions (although we will likely switch them to costplusdrugs.com anyway) and regular doctors appointments that she needs to continue with.
She does not qualify for health insurance through her employer as she does not work enough hours each week (her mental health is the priority over the money she makes, and she is working as many hours as she can without constantly being on the verge of a breakdown. She has a long, documented history of these mental health issues and I believe her therapist would agree that they are preventing her from working more hours. She has been trying to find a new job where she will be able to work enough to get coverage, but we have had no luck in this search at this point).
I reached out to my company's HR department to see whether she could be covered if we formed a domestic partnership, and they said only a legally married spouse could qualify for my benefits. She makes ~$1,600 per month working <25hr/week currently.
What are our options here? Is there any possibility that she could qualify for MassHealth? She lives with me, but I do not claim her as a dependent, and only my name is on the lease, so does my income matter for her to qualify for MassHealth? Is it possible for her to qualify for MassHealth because of her mental health? Is it possible that they could consider that a disability? Until today I was under the impression that we could form a domestic partnership to get her covered, and now I'm panicking a bit. If there are any resources I can use to figure this out or anywhere else that I can post this that you know of, please let me know.
submitted by /u/HealthThrowaway900
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