News from Colorado Covering Kids and Families (CKF)

Children of Parents and Caretaker Relatives Need to Have MEC

Effective October 1, 2016, the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) began implementing a federal requirement that certain parents and caretaker relatives living with a dependent child under the age of 19 must attest that the child has minimum essential coverage (MEC) or enroll the child in MEC in order to qualify for the Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Adult category.  MEC FAQs

Annualized Income Policy Change 

HCPF issued a FAQs document on the policy change that was implemented July 1, 2016, which allows income for self-employment, commission-based employment, and/or seasonal employment to be annualized under certain circumstances.

CMS Initiatives to Reach Young Adults During OE4

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced several new initiatives to reach young adults during the fourth open enrollment period (OE4). These initiatives include using the social video platform Twitch, a targeted and coordinated social media outreach campaign using the hashtag #HealthyAdulting, collaboration with the Department of Defense, an effort to increase marketplace awareness for young adults turning 19 who are enrolled in Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Programs, and outreach with the IRS to people who paid the individual responsibility penalty or claimed an exemption. Read the CMS announcement here.

[Source:  Colorado Covering Kids and Families]