My daughter is 2 years old and has been blind in one eye since birth. She has an ophthalmologist that she sees on a regular basis. She has undergone a surgery and regularly has EUAs (Exam Under Anesthesia) done to check on her good eye. These can be expensive even with insurance. They billed her primary insurance 18k for her last EUA, and without Medicaid I'm still responsible for 10% of that.
Currently I make $12.50/hr full time which comes out to to $26,000/yr before taxes. The Medicaid eligibility cutoff for a family of 3 in Texas is $26,952/yr (also before taxes). A $2 raise will bring me to $30,160, bringing in an additional $320/mo, and putting me over the eligibility limit.
I'm enrolled in my employer's health insurance which is $160 biweekly for the 3 of us. Since my daughter qualifies for Medicaid, the state reimburses me those premiums through a program called HIPP. If she loses Medicaid, I'm also out of the HIPP program. This completely negates the $2/hr raise.
As is, I'm struggling to make ends meet and require food stamp assistance. We get $315/mo. I'd most likely lose this benefit as well or have it reduced.
So in summary, if I get this promotion, my daughter will lose Medicaid, I will have to pay the insurance premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance out of my own pocket. Resulting in a net loss all around when I'm already struggling even though we live modestly.
I'd LOVE to get off all government assistance, but a $2/hr raise will not get me there, and it's something I will not even see after losing the other benefits. I only want this promotion so I can further my career and continue onto the next stepping stone. I'm just worried this move will destroy me financially since I'm already struggling.
What is your advice? Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is there some type of special Medicaid my child can apply for? If my daughter can keep her Medicaid I don't care about the food stamps since the raise will cover that. It'll instead be a lateral move financially instead of a net loss.
Submitted March 04, 2017 at 09:30PM by Throwaway03217 http://ift.tt/2lLUy3q
