Good news for young adults in Maryland who need health coverage!

Young adults ages 18-37 are now eligible for additional discounts through the young adult subsidy program. Previously, the state program only provided savings for adults through age 34. The savings are combined with those already available through the marketplace.

Monthly premiums dropped by about $40 on average for more than 33,000 young adults who qualified in 2023, in addition to other savings. The subsidy works on a sliding scale for those with the youngest and lowest income young adults paying the least.

The program's goal is to encourage more young adults in Maryland to enroll in health coverage. Young adult enrollments surpassed 50,000 in 2022 - 7% more than a year earlier.

To find out how much you can save, use the Get an Estimate tool beginning in early October 2023. The amount of financial help you receive will vary based on your income, family size and ZIP code. Examples of discounts for 2024 are:

If you are age 25 in Baltimore City with a lowest cost gold plan and making $27,500, your new monthly payment is $0.
If you are age 28 in Allegany County with a lowest cost gold plan and making $33,000, your new monthly payment is $5.53.
If you are age 30 in Prince George’s County with a lowest cost gold plan and making $38,500, your new monthly payment is $57.14.

Open enrollment begins Nov. 1, 2023 and runs through Jan. 15, 2024.

In the past, eligibility for Medicaid required pregnant individuals to be residing in Maryland lawfully and have certain immigration statuses. 

Thanks to the Healthy Babies Equity Act, effective July 1, 2023, noncitizen pregnant individuals in Maryland of any immigration status will now have access to Medicaid coverage.

The benefit will provide coverage during pregnancy and for four months after the baby is born. Medicaid may help pay for health care you had three months before you applied. 

Medicaid will pay for many different services, not just those related to the pregnancy.

An individual may qualify for this coverage if they meet the following criteria: 

• Noncitizen (e.g., undocumented) who does not qualify for  Medicaid solely due to immigration status;
• Maryland resident; 
• Currently or recently pregnant;
• Income up to 250% federal poverty level (FPL).

The best way to know if you can get Medicaid is to apply. 

Starting July 1, 2023, you can apply:

• Online at MarylandHealthConnection.gov 
• By using the app: Apple or Android​
• By calling 1-855-642-8572, deaf and hard of hearing use Relay.​
• In person at a local health department 
• In person at a local Health and Human Services Office 

For more information, visit:

https://health.maryland.gov/mmcp/medicaid-mch-initiatives/Pages/healthybabies.aspx 

Thanks to a new law this year, many more families can get financial help to purchase a high-quality health plan on Maryland Health Connection.

In the past, your family was not able to get financial help if your job offered health coverage.

Some employers, like small businesses, offer health care. However, it can be too expensive to get coverage through the employer for the entire family. But because your job offered coverage, your family was not eligible for financial help through Maryland Health Connection.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, family members will be able to receive financial help even if you have affordable employee-only health coverage. Affordability for family members will now be based on the cost an employee has to pay for family coverage.

In Maryland, 53,000 individuals were affected by what was called the family glitch.

That means that some people who haven’t qualified for financial help in the past can get help to lower the cost of premiums. It’s worth checking this year to see if your family can save more on health insurance. If you have job-based coverage, but haven’t been able to afford health coverage for your family — get an estimate through Maryland Health Connection. See if your family can save on coverage for 2023.