Your health is important. Make sure you have health insurance!
General Information
The 2013 Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that all US citizens have health insurance. Youth in foster care are covered by MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, a subsidized health care insurance. MaineCare gives you access to health care services like mental health counseling, physical health care, reproductive health care (like contraceptives), prescriptions, hospitalization, and transportation to medical appointments. MaineCare covers services from a primary care physician (PCP) and preventive care so that when you are sick or injured, you can visit your health care provider, not an emergency room. BUT, if you have an accident, you CAN go to the emergency room and MaineCare will cover it.
How Do I Qualify for MaineCare?
Because of the ACA, youth in foster care can receive MaineCare up to 26 years of age. If you are under the age of 26 and were in foster care and receiving MaineCare when you turned 18, then you qualify for MaineCare up until age 26. You also qualify if you met the prior requirements when you became an independent adult or when you signed a Voluntary Extended Support Agreement (V-9).
When you fill out your application, make sure to write that you were once in foster care. This will help identify what eligibility group you belong in. You can contact your transition worker or another contact at the Department of Health and Humans Services (DHHS) for assistance with your application. There is no income limit for individuals who have aged out of foster care and you can receive MaineCare until the age of 26 even if you are married.
NOTE: Maine (and any other state) is not required to provide extended coverage to youth who have aged out of care in another state.
Resources
Apply for MaineCare online at www.maine.gov/dhhs/mainecare.shtml.
You can also visit the closest DHHS office to apply. You can find your office at http://gateway.maine.gov/dhhs-apps/office_finder/.
Learn more about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by visiting http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/.