ADAP California Eligibility

[Defarge]

After having been in the UK for a couple of months, I'm starting to question whether I made the right decision in leaving San Francisco after 14 years. I realise that it's only natural to question it, but I do wonder if in many ways, I'd be better off there, as far as services for poz folks, the recovery community, the support network I have/had  and the general quality of life. I can only picture myself living in London here in the UK, and it's hideously expensive and I wonder if it would be a stressful struggle to live there. Anyways, I have things to research & time to cogitate on it all. One of the main reasons I left was because of the HIV, and knew that I'd be able to get good, free care & medications in the UK. I wouldn't have health insurance if I went back to the US...I was on my ex's health plan before I left, but with the divorce about to be finalised, that'll expire soon and I wouldn't be able to keep up with the COBRA(?) payments. So I'm thinking I'd need to go the ADAP route or something similar (I do have US citizenship).

The main concern/question I have is that I know that the income eligibility cap is $50K...my partner & I are filing a joint federal tax return, due to the rules being changed, so that our joint income would be split. The money I made last year is well under $50k, but lumped with the ex's income & split, my return may well be more than $50k. So would the ADAP just look at the money I made, or would they count the joint return?

Hope that all makes sense...

Dan

[AaronbytheC]

When you say you filed a joint "federal" return do you mean in the UK? 

On the federal level, the USA still does not recognize ANY same sax unions regardless of the legality in the state.  For me, I am legally married to a man in the state of California, we have to file a joint State return, but separate Federal returns.  When I signed up for ADAP they did not care about my husband's income, just mine. 

I do not really know the ins and outs of the system, my caseworker took care of everything and got me approved in just a few days.   I have not had to get reapproved, I'm still on my first year so I guess I’ll find out more come December. 

[Defarge]

I mean in the US.

The rules have changed in the last year...if you're in a Registered Domestic Parntership in CA, you can split the income between the two of you & then file those amounts. So if Partner A made $20k & Partner B made $100K, you'd each file tax returns for $60k ([A+B]/2).

I did a bit of research and according to Lambda Legal, this does have the potential to affect ADAP eligibility. My originaltax filing for last year was for $20k, but the ex & I filed an amendment under the new rule change & my amended return was for $60k, which pushes me out of being eligible for ADAP.

Aaron - how did you find your caseworker? I should probably get in touch with someone who really knows all the ins & outs.

So maybe I am basically screwed, or are there other ways or approaches to getting the meds I need?

[AaronbytheC]

Interesting, we've never heard those tax options.   We may have to look into this...   We were DP for 6 years prior to getting married while the window was open!   

My doctor actually hooked me up with him.  I'm down below SF in Monterey county so there really only one ASO service for the whole county.  The guy would handles ADAP knows the ins and outs (he's on ADAP himself).  I would think you need to contact an ASO in SF to find someone who would know what available in that county as well as the state.

[Defarge]

I don't know how far back it would apply...it may be just for 2009 & on.

I heard back from someone I know at the Stop Aids Project in SF & he's done some research for me with his contacts...looks like I won't have a problem qualifying for ADAP, as I'd be able to provide two recent pay stubs for proof of income, rather than the tax returns. There's also a couple of other ways, too, that I can look into. Yay! I think I'm gonna be moving home to SF come summer.

[freaky_dream]

Looking through the Ramsell site from what I can garner it appears that they didn't lower the eligibility after all. Can anyone who recently qualified for ADAP in CA confirm this?

[seriously]

Looking through the Ramsell site from what I can garner it appears that they didn't lower the eligibility after all. Can anyone who recently qualified for ADAP in CA confirm this?

Changes are coming, but the new budget, which would codify any changes, is still being argued... Lawmakers say right now that they're aiming for a mid-June deadline to finalize the budget. Califorina's new fiscal year begins July 1... but rarely does the legistlature actually finalize the budget by the start of the fiscal year, and in that case, it'll be status quo until things are passed.

You can read the original proposed buget summary related to health at:
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/BudgetSummary/HealthandHumanServices.pdf
and the modified version here:
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/Revised/BudgetSummary/HealthandHumanServices.pdf

The full version is available here:
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/GovernorsBudget/4000/4265.pdf

"The Governor's Budget includes a net increase of $86.9 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program to reflect a projected increase in prescription drug costs and caseload.  This amount includes savings of $16.8 million due to an increase in client share of cost to the maximum percentages allowable under federal law for specified ADAP clients, but would limit ADAP clients with private insurance or Medicare Part D to a maximum cost sharing percentage. "