Question: I have a friend who applied thru Covered CA using her current income which put her into Medi-Cal...but she also received some alimony payments earlier in 2014 which she did not account for. She expects her 2014 MAGI to be about $30,000 which is too high for Medi-Cal. Medi-Cal won't release her back to Covered CA to choose a subsidize plan unless her current income changes. Is it a problem that when she does her taxes, her AGI will be too high for her to qualify for Medi-CAL?

Answer: No. There is no chargeback, nor any other tax consequences, for one who is insured by Medi-Cal and subsequently reports income in excess of the Medi-Cal MAGI (modified adjusted gross income) benchmark. During the next open enrollment period, your friend should re-apply through Covered California and adjust her income to include the alimony income.