Is anyone here ACA (Affordable Care Act / Obamacare) literate? I’m in a state that hasn’t expanded Medicaid, and I’m trying very hard to help my partner qualify for the exchange based on ‘enough’ income.

So here’s the thing. My very long time partner and I have a child together. I will spare the details, but we live apart and aren’t married. Therefore, they are a household of two who currently have Medicaid because she doesn’t work at all. In our state, the income limit is abysmally small, something around $300 a month and she loses coverage. She wants to work, but is unable to full time reliably because of our child and also a health condition that would require too many random days off to work a real job.

However, she and we have both decided that doing gig work like Door Dash would be very doable, even approaching full time. But barring an extreme regimin, I really do not see this getting her to the required amount to qualify for the ACA exchange ($20-something thousand for a household of two, I forget the exact number). Therefore she would be left in the gap both without Medicaid and without the ability to get on the ACA exchange.

However, I have been doing some reading here on Reddit and elsewhere that suggests that the exchange will now allow you to make a “good faith estimate” of next year’s income. I believe that she could get to the required amount. But what if she doesn’t?

There is also another Ace in the Hole — I have a side gig myself in which I buy and sell certain collector’s items online. Perhaps I make 10-20k per year on this side gig. I could easily transfer this gig to her name and let her claim the income, and I wouldn’t mind at all. But would this qualify as income for the ACA purposes?

If anyone has any thoughts or ideas in my case or in general I’d greatly appreciate it. I know this topic has come up from time to time by people stuck in stubborn Republican controlled states, but maybe to be a little more specific to my particular situation. I’m fine, by the way, I have coverage through work myself. Getting married or moving in together isn’t an option for reasons beyond this post.