Obamacare/Medicaid??

Advice please....I'm so frustrated!!!

In the process of applying for Obamacare. At 21,000. annually (retail salary haha) my son and I qualify for Medicaid. I have excellent insurance through my employer, but pay $300. mo. I can no longer afford.

My question is do I opt for insurance where I'll still have copays and deductibles or do I shoot for medicaid where it seems I won't have any expenses? My Gastro PA said they would keep me on, therefore a free colonoscopy, which she wants me to have asap.

I'm thinking my prescriptions would be free too. I've never had Medicaid and want to know if anyone's familiar with it and would it be the best option for me.

My son currently has no insurance. The drawback is no doctors around here accept new Medicaid patients and we'd have to go to a lousy clinic with subpar care. or the ER

I did leave a message in to my NP of 8 years asking if they'd keep me on as a patient if I switched to Medicaid but haven't heard back.

Would appreciate any opinions.....THANK YOU

Omg, I'm sorry that you have to make these choices while being ill I hope you can figure out what's best for you and your son. I don't have any advice, sorry.

Thanks toomuch, could be worse....just need to make a decision

I do know that Medicaid works from a formulary, and if your medication isn't on it you will have to change meds. I'm not really familiar with the formulary, but your pharmacist would be able to tell you if your meds are in it. There can also be a co-pay for prescriptions, and there is a limit on the number you can get filled each month. (This may vary from state to state, I think.)

I just switched insurances due to Obamacare. I noticed that most Obamacare insurances have a limited formulary. The insurance companies found a creative way of getting around mandated insurance for those with chronic conditions - even though they have to provide coverage, and can't charge you more due to your pre-existing condition, they have learned that those with chronic diseases often use expensive meds so they offer very limited formularies which don't cover many meds. I signed up for a platinum policy with a large formulary. Unfortunately, it doesn't list the Lialda I take so I will probably have to switch to a different med. That's the best I could do regarding formularies. That really sucks. Obamacare policies also have very limited networks. The platinum plan I chose happens to cover all of my family's current doctors and other providers but if I had chosen other policies everyone in my family would have had to change at least some of our current doctors. People are going to find out day after day that Obamacare isn't what they thought it was going to be. Most people are going to be very disappointed in several different areas.

"I'm leaning more toward enrolling in private insurance where I pay a low premium due to tax subsidies, rather than medicaid where there may be too many restrictions in the long run. "

You do not have that choice. If you are Medicaid eligible you get no subsidy. Don't know what state you live in but in Arizona, medicaid(called AHCCCS) gives you a choice of private insurance polices and a state policy. The big things are to choose a policy and your primary care doctor before you sign up.Your primary care doctor directs care. Medcaid in this state is pretty good..usually better than private insurance as far as drugs and accepted by most doctors. It is modeled after state employee plans and the state just pays the premium. Copays are very low and no deductible.

Since you said you have a policy available at work you probably can't get a subsidized plan even if your income were higher.