What are my options with health insurance?
So I started a new job last March but before that, I was working as a freelance drafter for about two years. Up to now, I have been paying around $35 a month for health insurance thru healthcare market place because I was making about $12k a year freelancing. Now my new job is paying about $50k a year and since we don’t get health insurance thru the company, I have to shop around again. It seems like my plan with go up significantly to around $200 a month for minimum coverage but if I want mental health services which I’m currently undergoing treatment for, I’m looking at $350 a month. It’s about 10% of my net salary which is gonna make a huge dent in my available cash every month.
Do I have any other options that are more affordable? I’m actually thinking of just canceling health insurance completely and looking for low income health services in my area. It’s a bummer that I will have to leave my therapist who I have been making good progress with for about a year.
My mom says to report losses from a “freelance side gig” to lower my income for the year and thus lower my premium but I don’t feel right lying on my taxes.
Is there also a possibility of having to pay any cost for the 10 months of 2022 that I did have a full time job and did not report to my health insurance? Retroactive fees would be about $2000 for the 10 months which seems like another way health insurance is trying to f-me without even buying dinner. Any advice?
