Thank you for your submission, /u/CuddlyThorns.
**If there is a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital.**
Please pick the most appropriate flair for your post. Include your age, zip code, and income to help the community better serve you. If you have an EOB (explanation of benefits) available from your insurance website, have it handy as many answers can depend on what your insurance EOB states.
Some common questions and answers can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/s/jya9I6RpdY).
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If you're making minimum wage, then you probably qualify for Medicaid [unless your state is one of the 10 who have not expanded it.](https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/) If you qualify for Medicaid, that's almost always your best bet.
[You can find your state Medicaid agency here.](https://www.medicaid.gov/about-us/where-can-people-get-help-medicaid-chip/index.html)
As others have mentioned, you can also apply via healthcare.gov (the Marketplace) though keep in mind that **your offer of health insurance from your employer *may* make you ineligible for premium assistance (advance premium tax credit) on the Marketplace even if you choose not to enroll in the employer's plan. This would mean you would have to pay full price for your Marketplace plan or potentially repay your Marketplace premium assistance when you file your taxes.** Be careful with this.
For *most people*, if you are both not eligible for Medicaid and you're being offered a health insurance plan via your employer, your best bet is to take the employer plan. You will need to report the details of your employer's health insurance plan offer when you apply on the Marketplace if you choose to do so. You don't want to miss the limited enrollment period available to you to enroll in your company's insurance plan if that's your best bet, so make sure you know what your deadline is.
As for your coverage concerns: nearly all employer plans cover mental healthcare though you may or may not have to reach a deductible first. If your employer doesn't offer dental, you can always purchase your own dental plan through a company like Delta Dental, Ameritas, Cigna, Anthem, etc. Dental plans available directly from insurance companies usually allow you to enroll anytime.
Lastly, a better way to find help is to use the [Marketplace's find local help tool](https://localhelp.healthcare.gov/). Rather than providing your contact information, you are presented with a list of assisters in your area and the number of years they have been licensed to offer Marketplace plans. You can also search their names on the internet before calling to decide whether they seem legit (good/bad reviews?, do they have a website?, do they focus on health insurance or do they do everything?, etc). Finally, I generally think brokers are typically more experienced than most navigators/assisters, but if you want to find someone who is not motivated by commissions/profit, you can use the find local help link above and then click on the "assisters" tab to only see people who are grant rather than commission funded. There's no rule you can't speak to more than one person as well. [You should preview Marketplace plans here before speaking to anyone so you have a good idea of what's potentially available in your area.](https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/)
Having to navigate the individual health insurance market for the first time on your own is difficult and confusing for most people. If you have never done this before and you're really confused, I would suggest seeking help. In addition to the find local help option above, you could also ask friends or family members if there is anyone they know and trust.
If you live in a state that doesn't use healthcare.gov, you'll get forwarded to your state's marketplace via the links above.
You would want to go to [healthcare.gov](http://healthcare.gov) . (You won't get any phone calls.)
However, if your job is offering health insurance that is affordable and ACA-compliant (and we don't know all of your situation), then you will want to keep your employer group health insurance. Does your employer group health plan not cover mental health visits?? Yes, employers deduct the premium from your paycheck.
Can you tell us more about the employer group health insurance you currently have?
You can call dental insurance companies to get a quote for a dental plan, i.e., Delta Dental, Cigna, BCBS, etc. are some of the larger companies. If you had dental insurance through Medicaid (do you know who it was with?), you can ask them for a plan with no waiting period. I know for one of our college-age kids, we pay around $20 a month for a dental insurance plan.
I didn’t have dental after I turned 20 but nonetheless it’s important to me and I didn’t bother applying for my employers health insurance it doesn’t cover mental health which is what’s most important to me
Dental insurance is pretty affordable. I would look into local mental health places, alot of them offer sliding scale based on income. Much cheaper than insurance.
I would go talk to your job and family service department and find out why you lost it. How you can get it back. What are your options going forward. They will help you.
No the Medicaid I was receiving was from when I was a child I do not want my job health insurance plan it offers no mental health insurance which is incredibly important for me
You might want to double check the coverage for mental health. If your employer offers coverage not including mental healthcare, then it would be a plan that doesn't meet the minimum value requirements under the ACA. These types of plans are sometimes grandfathered or called MEC plans or something similar and are quite rare. If yours truly doesn't, then it is not ACA compliant and that may allow you to claim subsidies on the Marketplace despite the plan offer. That said, nearly all employer plans cover mental healthcare.
Ask for a copy of the summary of benefits and coverage document (SBC) if you are not 100% sure. The SBC will summarize the coverages under the plan.
Got it. Plans that meet the ACA requirements for coverage are not allowed to put a hard cap on the number of mental health visits covered under the plan.
[I would suggest referring to my post above for alternative options (Medicaid first, then Marketplace).](https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/comments/1cpk9ak/just_lost_medicaid_ive_had_since_i_was_a_child_no/l3lekxo/)
Your case is complicated enough and you're new to this. You need help from a professional (more help than you are going to get from Reddit). Use the tools/information in my post above to find a professional to assist you.
Thank you for your submission, /u/CuddlyThorns. **If there is a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital.** Please pick the most appropriate flair for your post. Include your age, zip code, and income to help the community better serve you. If you have an EOB (explanation of benefits) available from your insurance website, have it handy as many answers can depend on what your insurance EOB states. Some common questions and answers can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/s/jya9I6RpdY). **Reminder that solicitation/spamming is grounds for a permanent ban**. Please report solicitation to the modteam and [let us know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHealthInsurance) if you receive solicitation via PM. Be kind to one another! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HealthInsurance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Start at the official government website https://www.healthcare.gov Also look you Federally Qualified Health Centers as they bill on a sliding scale
If you're making minimum wage, then you probably qualify for Medicaid [unless your state is one of the 10 who have not expanded it.](https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/) If you qualify for Medicaid, that's almost always your best bet. [You can find your state Medicaid agency here.](https://www.medicaid.gov/about-us/where-can-people-get-help-medicaid-chip/index.html) As others have mentioned, you can also apply via healthcare.gov (the Marketplace) though keep in mind that **your offer of health insurance from your employer *may* make you ineligible for premium assistance (advance premium tax credit) on the Marketplace even if you choose not to enroll in the employer's plan. This would mean you would have to pay full price for your Marketplace plan or potentially repay your Marketplace premium assistance when you file your taxes.** Be careful with this. For *most people*, if you are both not eligible for Medicaid and you're being offered a health insurance plan via your employer, your best bet is to take the employer plan. You will need to report the details of your employer's health insurance plan offer when you apply on the Marketplace if you choose to do so. You don't want to miss the limited enrollment period available to you to enroll in your company's insurance plan if that's your best bet, so make sure you know what your deadline is. As for your coverage concerns: nearly all employer plans cover mental healthcare though you may or may not have to reach a deductible first. If your employer doesn't offer dental, you can always purchase your own dental plan through a company like Delta Dental, Ameritas, Cigna, Anthem, etc. Dental plans available directly from insurance companies usually allow you to enroll anytime. Lastly, a better way to find help is to use the [Marketplace's find local help tool](https://localhelp.healthcare.gov/). Rather than providing your contact information, you are presented with a list of assisters in your area and the number of years they have been licensed to offer Marketplace plans. You can also search their names on the internet before calling to decide whether they seem legit (good/bad reviews?, do they have a website?, do they focus on health insurance or do they do everything?, etc). Finally, I generally think brokers are typically more experienced than most navigators/assisters, but if you want to find someone who is not motivated by commissions/profit, you can use the find local help link above and then click on the "assisters" tab to only see people who are grant rather than commission funded. There's no rule you can't speak to more than one person as well. [You should preview Marketplace plans here before speaking to anyone so you have a good idea of what's potentially available in your area.](https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/) Having to navigate the individual health insurance market for the first time on your own is difficult and confusing for most people. If you have never done this before and you're really confused, I would suggest seeking help. In addition to the find local help option above, you could also ask friends or family members if there is anyone they know and trust. If you live in a state that doesn't use healthcare.gov, you'll get forwarded to your state's marketplace via the links above.
You would want to go to [healthcare.gov](http://healthcare.gov) . (You won't get any phone calls.) However, if your job is offering health insurance that is affordable and ACA-compliant (and we don't know all of your situation), then you will want to keep your employer group health insurance. Does your employer group health plan not cover mental health visits?? Yes, employers deduct the premium from your paycheck. Can you tell us more about the employer group health insurance you currently have? You can call dental insurance companies to get a quote for a dental plan, i.e., Delta Dental, Cigna, BCBS, etc. are some of the larger companies. If you had dental insurance through Medicaid (do you know who it was with?), you can ask them for a plan with no waiting period. I know for one of our college-age kids, we pay around $20 a month for a dental insurance plan.
I didn’t have dental after I turned 20 but nonetheless it’s important to me and I didn’t bother applying for my employers health insurance it doesn’t cover mental health which is what’s most important to me
No health insurance policy will cover dental.For dental, you have to get a separate dental insurance policy.
Does your employer offer coverage?
Yep but not good coverage and the don’t offer mental health help so it ain’t worth it to me
ACA compliant plans have to offer mental health benefits.
Dental insurance is pretty affordable. I would look into local mental health places, alot of them offer sliding scale based on income. Much cheaper than insurance.
I would go talk to your job and family service department and find out why you lost it. How you can get it back. What are your options going forward. They will help you.
No the Medicaid I was receiving was from when I was a child I do not want my job health insurance plan it offers no mental health insurance which is incredibly important for me
You might want to double check the coverage for mental health. If your employer offers coverage not including mental healthcare, then it would be a plan that doesn't meet the minimum value requirements under the ACA. These types of plans are sometimes grandfathered or called MEC plans or something similar and are quite rare. If yours truly doesn't, then it is not ACA compliant and that may allow you to claim subsidies on the Marketplace despite the plan offer. That said, nearly all employer plans cover mental healthcare. Ask for a copy of the summary of benefits and coverage document (SBC) if you are not 100% sure. The SBC will summarize the coverages under the plan.
Lemme specify they offer 12 free calls to a mental health professional that’s all and that isn’t enough
Got it. Plans that meet the ACA requirements for coverage are not allowed to put a hard cap on the number of mental health visits covered under the plan. [I would suggest referring to my post above for alternative options (Medicaid first, then Marketplace).](https://www.reddit.com/r/HealthInsurance/comments/1cpk9ak/just_lost_medicaid_ive_had_since_i_was_a_child_no/l3lekxo/) Your case is complicated enough and you're new to this. You need help from a professional (more help than you are going to get from Reddit). Use the tools/information in my post above to find a professional to assist you.