Can parents purchase Covered California plans for their children without purchasing plans for themselves? Can the children be eligible for subsidies?

Parents can purchase Covered California plans for their children without purchasing plans for themselves. The child’s eligibility for premium assistance is determined by the household income.

Covered California hosted an agent webinar that includes a primer on how subsidy eligibility works. More information is available here:
https://www.claremontcompanies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/CoveredCA-CustomerRolloverWebinar_11_08_13.pdf

My daughter worked full time until last week returning to a post baccalaureate program full time. Is she eligible for a subsidized health plan because her income will be in nil in 2014?

If your daughter is a dependent on your tax return, then your household income will be used to determine her eligibility for subsidy. If she files her own taxes, her own income will be used to determine her eligibility for subsidy. Subsidies are based on current income.

Looking for a primer on how Covered California works for individuals and families, including subsidy eligibility?. Click here for an informative webinar recently hosted by Covered California.

If an over-age dependent (age 30) is unemployed and living with mom and dad, are mom and dad earnings considered in determining medical/premium & cost sharing subsidies?

If this individual’s parents claim him/her as a tax dependent, then his/her subsidy eligibility will be determined by his/her parent’s household income. If s/he is not claimed as a tax dependent, his/her subsidy eligibility will be determined by his/her own income.

What is the minimum premium that qualifies for a subsidy and how does it effect the amount of reduction? From section 5, slide 33 of 59

Premium tax credits are calculated based on an individual’s “fair share” of premium. “Fair share” increases with income, and ranges from 3.5% of income at 139% of FPL to 9.5% of income at 400% of FPL.

Individuals will pay their “fair share” of premium, or the total premium, whichever is less.

What if someone shares custody of the children & changes the dependents claimed annually, how is the household size determined (for instance, 2 children are claimed in odd years and 1 child is claimed in even years)?

A household includes individuals for whom a taxpayer claims a deduction for a personal exemption. Hence, the household size would depend on how many individuals are claimed. In this situation, it would be a household size of 3 in the odd years and a household size of 2 in the even years.
See the following link for a more detailed explanation and examples:
http://www.cbpp.org/files/Household-Definitions-Webinar-7Aug13.pdf

Who ensures that individuals taking the premium tax credits in advance pay it back if they are no longer eligible?

The IRS ensures that any excess amount that was overpaid in premium credits are repaid to the IRS as a tax payment.

Does unemployment count as income?

Unemployment compensation is included in the MAGI calculation.
See: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/healthcare/MAGI_summary13.pdf

Is there a resource to learn how the premium tax credits are calculated?

See the following:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41137.pdf
http://www.cbpp.org/files/QA-on-Premium-Credits.pdf

Can individuals that are lawfully present apply for premium assistance and cost-sharing reductions?

Yes.

If an individual has a domestic partner filing a separate tax return, can the individual just report his/her own income to qualify for a premium subsidy if they live with a domestic partner who earns a higher income and their household income combined would be too high to qualify for a premium subsidy?

Household income is the sum of a taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) plus the aggregate MAGI of all the individuals for whom a taxpayer properly claims a deduction for personal exemption and are required to file a tax return. Hence, if the taxpayer does not claim a deduction for personal exemption for another individual, only the taxpayer’s income will be considered for eligibility for premium assistance.
See example on page 15 in the Eligibility for Individuals and Families participant guide.