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I have a girlfriend, she is not working, but in college at the moment. We live together, but are unmarried and have no kids. I have a considerable income of about $60k annually.

We tried Medicaid, but it's been over 3 months and she has so far she has not been granted any.

How can I get health insurance for her, as I am tired of her keep putting off not getting health issues checked out because of lack of insurance?

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    Can you give some more information on "we tried Medicaid, but it's been over 3 months and so far she hasn't been granted any"? Which state do you live in, how did you apply, and what communications did you receive from the relevant government office (has she been assigned a case worker to review her application, has she received requests for more information or documentation, has she been denied, etc.)?
    – Upper_Case
    Jul 11, 2018 at 12:46
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    You could always marry her ;)
    – Joel Coehoorn
    Jul 11, 2018 at 17:14
  • @Upper_Case. State: IL, Applied online, Status has been case worker is reviewing your case, nothing beyond that.
    – needoriginalname
    Jul 11, 2018 at 19:01
  • Update on this one, we had to move because of my job. She applied for Health Insurance, the new state we are in got done and approved her within 1 month."
    – needoriginalname
    Dec 17, 2018 at 17:02

4 Answers 4

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She should check with her school. They may offer low cost insurance coverage. I had an ex who years ago got her insurance through her college. I don't remember if it covered the year or the semester, but I remember being surprised how cheap it was (pre-ACA).

If you're in New York, check the New York State of Health website, as you can apply through there for state sponsored plans (may be subject to enrollment periods, but domestic partnership may be a qualifying life event not sure).

If you are living together but unmarried, check with your employer to see if they offer domestic partner coverage.

If so, it will typically cost the same as if you were married, or it will be double the single person cost. However, the value of the insurance plan for her will be considered so compensation to you, not a benefit, so it will show up as imputed income and you will pay tax on that amount.

You would have to show some proof of domestic partnership (proof of address, shared expenses, etc.).

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    I agree with the first the first paragraph. My college split health insurance into two periods (one per semester), but together it covered the whole year. The first covered Aug - Dec, and the second covered Jan - July. It was relatively cheap as well.
    – Nosjack
    Jul 11, 2018 at 12:31
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    Isn't it possible she's also still covered by her parents' insurance (if young enough), as she's a college student?
    – sirjonsnow
    Jul 11, 2018 at 14:48
  • Just checked college web site, Its Southern New Hampshire University, an online college, no info about health insurance that I can find. No idea about the partnership thing, we have only lived together since last august, before our move in March to IL.
    – needoriginalname
    Jul 11, 2018 at 19:14
  • @needoriginalname thinking back, of the many colleges/universities my ex attended, that was the only one with the coverage, and they had a top notch medical program attached to a hospital. So even though it was general insurance (United I think) it may have been somewhat related to their large medical presence. As far as living together, sounds domestic partnership worthy to me, check with your employer if you can get insurance through them to see what the requirements are.
    – briantist
    Jul 11, 2018 at 19:24
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    Basically all residential colleges will offer some kind health plan, whether they have a medical school or not. This is done as a group plan, so students must either pay for the plan, or provide evidence of outside (parent) coverage. The usual scheme, though, is that all primary care and often pharmacy will be done through the on-campus facility. Online colleges, though, you're on your own.
    – user71659
    Jul 11, 2018 at 19:47
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Coverage under the Affordable Care Act can only be obtained during the Open Enrollment Period, which next starts November 1st, 2018. There are a few exceptions to this, though, such as getting married or having a baby, which would automatically make her eligible for a short period after the Qualifying Life Event occurs. You can read more about the options on HealthCare.gov, or check your state's local health care system (the HealthCare.gov site can direct you to your state's local health care system). As a special note, if your girlfriend moves in with you, and it's been less than 60 days, and her ZIP code or county changed as a result of this, that is an eligible event to get her enrolled now.

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  • We moved in together over 3/4 months ago at our current location.
    – needoriginalname
    Jul 11, 2018 at 19:03
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    @needoriginalname Love the moniker, by the way. It doesn't really matter when she moved in, but when it was made official (e.g. putting in an address change with DMV). However, if you're out of the 60 days, then you need to pursue other avenues (like the other answer says), or bite the bullet and get married, if you're really serious about it. Also, as another answer says, if she's younger than 26, she might qualify under her parent's insurance according to ACA. Getting married might be overkill, but it's a potential solution if you can't wait until November.
    – phyrfox
    Jul 11, 2018 at 19:07
  • lol someone is going HAM deleting comments....
    – quid
    Jul 12, 2018 at 17:50
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You are asking the wrong question.

Health insurance is not required to get treatment, it helps manage the cost.

The correct question is "Where can my girlfriend get general health care and checkups for amount we can afford?"

The answer is to check healthcare.gov for How to find low-cost health care in your community

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    While technically true, a person without insurance may find it very difficult to get anyone to agree to see them. I believe the only place that is required to do so is hospitals (which are very expensive, in part for that reason).
    – T.E.D.
    Jul 11, 2018 at 16:02
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    This is a bad answer. If you have any sort of non-trivial medical issue, you need insurance or the cost is going to get prohibitive extremely quickly in the US.
    – jdf
    Jul 11, 2018 at 16:09
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    @T.E.D. plenty of places will see you if you pay cash instead of using insurance, so long as you really can pay cash. A lot of places actually prefer it, because billing insurance is such a pain. The tough part is getting them to agree to a price before they do anything.
    – Kat
    Jul 11, 2018 at 16:52
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    @Kat That can work well for surgeries, physical therapy, routine exams, or other services which have (1) known (or very likely) sets of services that will be provided, and (2) can be scheduled in advance. Going in to get some specific complaint checked can be harder because it's hard to predict what tests, specialists, etc. might need to be involved. Your comment is true and valuable (+1), but may not apply to the situation in the question.
    – Upper_Case
    Jul 11, 2018 at 18:40
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    @Barmar I say that as someone who used to be very broke and not have insurance. If you go in and tell them what's going on and what your budget is, they'll often work with you. Sure, they can't help you with a brain tumor for $200, but you might be surprised what they are able to do.
    – Kat
    Jul 11, 2018 at 19:42
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As you have mentioned the university in a previous comment, I was able to find 2 resources that should help:

Their wellness center

a health insurance agency affiliated with the university

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    The wellness center in NH may not be at all convenient for someone studying online and living in IL.
    – Michael Karas
    Jul 12, 2018 at 11:10
  • @SeanC I will check that out once I get home.
    – needoriginalname
    Jul 12, 2018 at 16:01

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