New York State Medicaid 63.

New York State Question: How much of a sudden burst of income will throw me off of Regular Medicaid and when?

Hi, I am 63+ old male, live in New York State, and apparently I am on Medicaid. I am approximately 15 months from Medicare. I had COBRA from my last job, which ended a long time ago, like April 2022. I signed up for Social Security Retirement this summer, and signed onto the NYS Dept of Health for a Health plan. Since I was only going to be collecting $15K this year in SS benefits, and I previously had COBRA, apparently, I could choose NO subsided or Medicaid plans. There was no options to choose from. It just says that I am on “Regular Medicaid.” I called them to try and find out what was going on. I got some lady yelling at me “You are on Medicaid!!!!” with the tone that I was a complete dumb fuck. Without a plan, my doctor dropped me, with the tone that I was a complete dumb fuck.

From what I gather, apparently, “Regular Medicaid,” of which I cannot seem to find a formal definition, only covers after some other plan. People have pointed this out to me, but nobody seems to be able to explain it. The problem is that I am on NO OTHER plan. My COBRA is long since gone, expired. It ended in April and I, or course, stopped paying for it. It is done, Kaput. No longer exists.

No matter what I do, it the website only says, Regular Medicaid with no plan options.

Okay, so can I use this Medicaid?

Now, I am healthy and I am fine with not seeing a doctor until Medicare supposedly kicks in. However, I need some dental work and a crown. People say I can go to the downtown clinic that accepts Medicaid and get the work done for free. However, I am on no Medicare plan, and it keeps thinking there is another plan underneath it. Nobody seems to have a definitive answer for this situation. Help?

The other thing is, that I may convert some of my IRA to a Roth this December. That would push up my 2022 income, and make it much higher than $15K.

What is the maximum I can covert without affecting the Medicaid? Will income increase ruin my Medicaid designation? If so, how much?

Also, I want to be covered but I have the fear that it may cost me $12000 for 2023 because I would have to buy non-subsidized plans due to income. What are the levels of income I need to stay on Medicaid, or get affordable subsidized plans.

The thing is that it seems that I may have my dental work completely covered if I stay on Medicaid, but not covered if I start paying for a subsidized plan? My current dentist does not take insurance of any kind, and wants to charge me enough to take a week vacation in Belgium and get it done there. Without a high paying job, I am dropping them.

Any sage advice on how to go about this situation?

Basically, how much would making a few extra bucks affect (penalize) me for getting a suitable health coverage in NYS before I hit Medicare in 15 months.