My elderly self-employed uncle needs health care.

December 9, 2017 4:13 PM

My elderly self-employed uncle needs health care. I have health insurance as a (US) government employee. Is there a chance I could find some way to cover him under my insurance?

Would it be possible if I declared him as a dependent? He doesn't work much, but is still working (self-employed). Would he need to stop working if he was somehow declared my dependent?

Not sure if there is any way to do this but thought it was worth trying. As a sick, self-insured (and self-employed) guy, his insurance premium is almost higher than his take home income.

posted by arnicae to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

When you say "elderly"--generally, these days, people don't use that word for people under the age of 65, if not older. How old is your uncle?
posted by Sequence at 4:32 PM on December 9, 2017

is he not eligible for Medicare?
posted by SLC Mom at 4:34 PM on December 9, 2017

Look at your benefits info- they generally clearly define who can be added to your healthcare plan as a dependent. I’d be highly surprised if you were able to add anyone other than spouse/partner and children.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:12 PM on December 9, 2017

Assuming he is under 65: if he earns so little he should qualify for a subsidy under the ACA, reducing the cost to under 10% of his income. He needs to apply by this Friday. If he already has a policy through the exchange and his income is reduced he should be able to get the subsidy increased. If his income is very low he would qualify for Medicaid unless he is in a state that didn't accept the expansion. Is this the case?
posted by Botanizer at 6:29 PM on December 9, 2017

For tax purposes you need to provide for the person more than 50%; I suspect this is similar, or many fewer elders would be onlousy Medicare supplement plans.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:55 PM on December 9, 2017