i have work health insurance for me and my family but the premiums are unaffordable . my daughter uses my work insurance as a primary insurance and medicaid as a secondary insurance can i drop my work insurance so that it only covers me and use my daughters medicaid as a primary insurance seeing as how she is already approved for medicaid. i had a person from the ny health marketplace tell me to just drop my primary insurance for her. it didn’t sound right to me any info would b more than helpful

  1. 5527 POINTS
    Marlin McKelvy
    President, Consumer Directed Benefit Solutions, Memphis, Tennessee
    You are probably talking about the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) rather than Medicaid.  These are two separate programs and they operate under different rules and eligibility criteria. Eligibility rules will vary from state to state but they are based upon the parent's income level.  In most states a family of four can earn up to $47,700 annually and still qualify for this program.  To get more detailed information you should call the CHIP hotline at 1-877-543-7669 and explain your specific situation to them to get a definitive answer for your state.

    Where your situation gets much more complex is in regards to Section 125 of the IRS regulations and whether your child would qualify for coverage under Title 19 of the Social Security Act or Title 21 (where CHIP come into the picture)  .  If your employer has a Section 125 plan in place and you are currently paying for your share of the health insurance on a pre-tax basis (the probability that this is the case is pretty high as most employers have adopted such plans) then you are probably locked into your current coverage until your group's next open enrollment period.  This is because becoming eligible for CHIP is not a "qualifying event" under the IRS guidelines that would allow you to drop your child from your group coverage during the group's plan year.

    To be eligible for Medicaid under Title 19 there generally has to be a disability of some type involved or where one parent is absent, incapacitated or unemployed.
    Answered on May 5, 2014
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