Over the years of working with families and nannies I found that the majority of nannies don't have medical insurance and parents couldn't manage their budgets to provide this as a benefit. As you are aware, the Affordable Care Act has made medical insurance possible and mandatory for every citizen and legal resident. Effective January 1, 2014 every citizen and legal resident must have health insurance or pay a penalty. The information about how to obtain medical insurance can be complicated and shrouded in considerable political and legal arguments about the law. Since obtaining medical insurance is so important and needed among the nanny community, I'm providing here 2 simple ways to know what a nanny is entitled to and how to obtain insurance.
1. If a nanny expects to earn less than $15,856.00 of reportable income in 2014, she is entitled to free Medi-Cal. A nanny can sign up for it at http://www.coveredca.com or call 800-00-1506.
2. If a nanny earns more than $15,856.00 but less than $46,000 individually or $94,000 for a family of four of reportable income in 2014, she may be entitled to tax credits and subsidies to help pay for health care insurance. She can sign up at http://www.coveredca.com or call 800-300-1506.
If you or your nanny has any questions about entitlement call 800-300-1506 or go online to http://www.coveredca.com.