Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales: La versión en … Out...a 2018 Mar ket place plan even though...

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Volume 37, Num ber 2 The open enrollment pe- riod for Marketplace Health Insurance ended, but you still can enroll with SEP. Page 1 A new New Jersey law prohibits mugshot “extor- tion” by Internet publish- ers. Page 5 Tenant screening agen- cies: Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Page 6 How to find legal forms to represent yourself in court. Page 8 Changes to the expunge- ment law regarding juve- nile records go into effect on April 1, 2018. Check LSNJ’s CLEARING YOUR RECORD ONLINE for updates from April 1. Page 10 Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales La versión en español la encontrará al reverso. Special Enrollment Period for Marketplace Health Insurance The Open Enrollment Period for Marketplace Health Insurance Ended, But You Still Can Enroll With SEP “OPEN ENROLLMENT” to buy private health insur- ance for 2018 through the Federal Marketplace (www.healthcare.gov) ended on December 15, 2017. If you already had a Marketplace policy, November 1-December 15 was also the time to re-enroll or change plans. All states like New Jersey that use the Federal Marketplace had this limited open enroll- ment period for 2018. What if I missed the open enrollment period? The only way you will be able to qualify for a Mar- ketplace plan for 2018 is if you qualify for a Special En- rollment Period (SEP). An SEP is triggered by a specific event. You usually have 60 days from the triggering event to apply for coverage through the Marketplace. The most common event triggering an SEP is loss of other health coverage. For example, if you have health insurance coverage through your job, but lose that coverage on April 1, 2018, you could still enroll in a 2018 Marketplace plan even though open enroll- ment for 2018 has closed. This is because you would Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales: La versión en español la encontrará al reverso Continued on page 2 Looking Out For Your Legal Rights ® March 2018 Published by Legal Services of New Jersey New Jersey’s Community Legal Education Newsletter © 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

Transcript of Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales: La versión en … Out...a 2018 Mar ket place plan even though...

Vol ume 37, Num ber 2

The open en roll ment pe -riod for Mar ket placeHealth In sur ance ended,but you still can en rollwith SEP. Page 1

A new New Jer sey lawpro hib its mugshot “ex tor -tion” by Internet pub lish -ers. Page 5

Ten ant screen ing agen -cies: Your rights un derthe Fair Credit Re port ing Act. Page 6

How to find le gal formsto rep re sent your self incourt. Page 8

Changes to the expunge -ment law re gard ing ju ve -nile re cords go intoef fect on April 1, 2018.Check LSNJ’s CLEAR ING

YOUR RE CORD ON LINE

for up dates from April 1.Page 10

Cuáles Son SusDerechos Legales

La versión enespañol la encontrará

al reverso.

Spe cial En roll ment Pe riod forMar ket place Health In sur ance

The Open En roll ment Pe riod forMar ket place Health In sur ance Ended,

But You Still Can En roll With SEP

“OPEN EN ROLL MENT” to buy pri vate health in sur -ance for 2018 through the Fed eral Mar ket place(www.healthcare.gov) ended on De cem ber 15, 2017. If you al ready had a Mar ket place pol icy, No vem ber1-De cem ber 15 was also the time to re-en roll orchange plans. All states like New Jer sey that use theFed eral Mar ket place had this lim ited open en roll -ment pe riod for 2018.

What if I missed the open en roll ment pe riod?The only way you will be able to qual ify for a Mar -

ket place plan for 2018 is if you qual ify for a Spe cial En -roll ment Pe riod (SEP). An SEP is trig gered by a spe cificevent. You usu ally have 60 days from the trig ger ingevent to ap ply for cov er age through the Mar ket place.The most com mon event trig ger ing an SEP is loss ofother health cov er age. For ex am ple, if you havehealth in sur ance cov er age through your job, but losethat cov er age on April 1, 2018, you could still en roll in a 2018 Mar ket place plan even though open en roll -ment for 2018 has closed. This is be cause you would

Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales: La versión en español la encontrará al reverso

Con tinued on page 2

Look ing OutFor Your Le gal Rights®

March 2018 Pub lished by Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey

New Jer sey’s Com mu nity Le gal Edu ca tion News let ter

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

2 Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018

Look ing Out For Your Le gal Rights®

About Looking Out

Looking Out For Your Le gal Rights is pub lished 10 times a

year by Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey. If you are a Le gal

Ser vices cli ent, you can pick up a copy at your lo cal Le -

gal Ser vices of fice. You may also read Looking Out on

our website at www.lsnjlaw.org.

Sub scrip tions

Sub scrip tions are $20 a year. For more in for ma tion,

please email pub li ca [email protected].

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View back is sues at www.lsnjlaw.org.

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If you have any sug ges tions or com ments about Look ing

Out, we would like to hear from you. Please send all cor -

re spon dence to:Ed i tor, Look ing Out

Le gal Ser vices of New Jer seyP.O. Box 1357

Ed i son, NJ 08818-1357pub li ca [email protected]

This news let ter is for gen eral in for ma tion only. If youhave a le gal prob lem, you should see a law yer.

A por tion of the cost of this pub li ca tion was sup portedby funds pro vided by the IOLTA Fund of the Bar ofNew Jer sey.

© 2018 Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey

Look ing Out For Your Le gal Rights is a fed er ally reg is tered trade mark of Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey.

qual ify for an SEP as long as you en rollwithin 60 days of April 1 (by June 1,2018). Keep in mind that if you want cov -er age by the first of a month, you need to en roll by the 15

of the prior month. (Ifyou want cov er age by April 1, you have to en roll by March 15.)

This ap plies if you are laid off, quityour job, or have a re duc tion in hoursthat makes you no lon ger el i gi ble foryour plan at work. This also ap plies ifyou lose em ployer cov er age through di -

vorce, le gal sep a ra tion from, or death ofyour spouse. You also qual ify for an SEPif your em ployer con tin u a tion cov er age(such as CO BRA) ex pires, if your stu -dent health plan ex pires, or if you losecov er age un der your par ent’s plan be -cause you turned 26 or 30. A per son whois cur rently re ceiv ing NJ FamilyCare and is ter mi nated be cause of an in crease inin come or some other change also qual i -fies for an SEP.

Other ex am ples of events trig ger ingSEPs are: l You are re leased from prison or jail.l The con tri bu tion you have to pay

for your health plan at work is in -creased above a cer tain level.

l You newly gain sta tus as a cit i zen or law fully pres ent im mi grant.

l You get mar ried.l You adopt a child.l You move from an other state to

New Jer sey.

Buy ing health in sur ance can be veryex pen sive. For ex am ple, a 62-year-oldsin gle per son in New Jer sey would have

Con tin ued from page 1

You usu ally have 60 days from a trig ger ingevent to ap ply for cov er age through the Mar -ket place un der the Spe cial En roll ment Pe riodrules.

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018 3

to pay ap prox i mately $893 per month to get a plan with a $900 de duct ible and$15 co-pays for ge neric pre scrip tiondrugs. Un der the ACA, how ever, peo ple with low and mod er ate in come can re -ceive fi nan cial as sis tance, so that thesame plan for a per son with $18,000 an -nual in come would cost $195 per month with a $0 de duct ible and $5 co-pays forge neric pre scrip tion drugs. This pre -mium may still be hard to af ford, but it ismuch better than the cost with out as sis -tance. Pre mium sub si dies, re ferred to as Ad vance Pre mium Tax Cred its (APTC),are avail able on a slid ing scale based onin come up to 400% FPL. You can alsolook for dif fer ent Mar ket place plansthat have lower pre mi ums, but higherde duct ibles and co-pays, and get helpwith a Cost Shar ing Re duc tion (CSR)for Silver Plans. CSRs are available up to250% FPL (see chart above).

How is in come cal cu lated?To de ter mine el i gi bil ity for Mar ket -

place fi nan cial as sis tance, Medicaid,and CHIP, one method for count ing in -come is used. It is called the Mod i fied Ad -jus t ed Gross In come or “MAGI”meth od ol ogy. With a few ex cep tions, itis the same method that is used to cal cu -late Ad justed Gross In come (AGI) on a fed -eral in come tax re turn. Gen er ally, only

house hold in come that is tax able iscounted as in come in de ter min ing el i gi -bil ity for these pro grams. For ex am ple,SSI and child sup port are not counted as in come be cause they are not tax able.You can also sub tract amounts that youcon trib ute to re tire ment plans like IRAsbecause they are deductible whendetermining AGI.

How do I ap ply for cov er age throughthe Mar ket place?

You can ap ply for a Mar ket place planon line at www.healthcare.gov or by call -ing 1-800-318-2596. If you want in-per -son as sis tance, go to the Find Lo cal Help sec tion on the healthcare.gov websiteand en ter your zip code or con tact oneof the agen cies be low for help.

Cen ter for Fam ily Ser vicesAt lan tic, Burlington, Cam den,Cape May, Cum ber land, Glou ces -ter, and Sa lem Coun tieswww.centerffs.org (search forNav i ga tor Ex change Pro gram)1-877-9-AC CESS (1-877-922-2377)

The Food Bank of Monmouthand Ocean Coun tieshttp://fulfillnj.org/get-help/#healthcare(732) 643-5888

House hold SizeAn nual Limit for Pre mium Sub si dies

(APTC) on the Mar ket place

An nual Limit forCost Shar ing Re duc tions

(CSR) on the Mar ket place

1 $ 48,560 $ 30,350

2 $ 65,840 $ 41,150

3 $ 83,120 $ 51,950

4 $100,400 $ 62,750

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

4 Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018

Jew ish Re nais sance Med i cal Cen terUn ion and Essex Coun tieswww.jrmc.us/ser vices/health-in sur ance-as sis tance(973) 564-1415 (New ark) (732) 347-8095 (Perth Amboy)

The Fam ily Re source Net work, Inc.www.frnnavigator.orgHunterdon, Mer cer, Mor ris,Ocean, and Somerset Coun ties (800) 355-0271

In ad di tion, New Jer sey’s Fed er allyQual i fied Health Cen ters (FQHC) pro -vide free en roll ment as sis tance by cer ti -fied ap pli ca tion coun sel ors. The list ofthose cen ters can be found athttp://njpca.site-ym.com/?page=LocateCenter

El i gi bil ity for NJ FamilyCareIf you did not en roll for in sur ance

through the Mar ket place, you should

check whether you and your fam ilymem bers are el i gi ble for NJ FamilyCare. If you en roll in NJ FamilyCare, you willprob a bly not have to pay a pre mium, de -duct ible, or co-pay.

Un der the Af ford able Care Act(ACA), many new peo ple be came el i gi -ble for Medicaid (called NJ FamilyCarein New Jer sey). New Jer sey adults age 19to 65 are now el i gi ble for Medicaid iftheir house hold in come is at or be low138% of the Fed eral Pov erty Level(FPL). The chart be low lists thoseamounts for 2017.

NJ FamilyCare for chil dren in cludesboth Medicaid and the Chil dren’sHealth In sur ance Pro gram (CHIP).Medicaid and CHIP have dif fer ent in -come lim its and dif fer ent cov er ageplans, but both fall within the NJFamilyCare program.

The Medicaid in come limit for chil -dren is 147% FPL. Chil dren el i gi ble for

Medicaid El i gi bil ity for Adults for 2018

House hold SizeAn nual In come Limit for

Adult Medicaid (138% FPL)Monthly In come Limit for

Adult Medicaid (138% FPL)

1 $ 16,754 $ 1,396

2 $ 22,715 $ 1,893

3 $ 28,667 $ 2,389

4 $ 34,638 $ 2,887

Medicaid and CHIP El i gi bil ity for Chil dren for 2018

House hold SizeAn nual In come Limit for

Child MedicaidAn nual In come Limit for

CHIP Coverage

1 $ 17,846 $ 43,097

2 $ 24,197 $ 58,433

3 $ 30,547 $ 73,769

4 $ 36,897 $ 89,105

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018 5

Medicaid get Plan A. Chil dren abovethat in come limit up to 355% FPL are el -i gi ble for the Chil dren’s Health In sur -ance Pro gram (CHIP). De pend ing ontheir in come, chil dren el i gi ble for CHIP get Plan B, C, or D and might have to pay a higher por tion of the cost. Chil drenover 150% FPL have to pay smallco-pays, and chil dren over 200% FPLhave to pay a small premium.

How do I ap ply for NJ FamilyCare?If you think your in come is low

enough to qual ify for NJ FamilyCare, ap -ply on line at njfamilycare.org or call1-800-701-0710. In ad di tion to NJFamilyCare pro grams based on your in -come, there are also Medicaid pro grams within NJ FamilyCare for per sons basedon dis abil ity or age (over 65). You canap ply in per son for all Medicaid pro -grams whether based on in come, dis -

abil ity, or age by go ing to your countyBoard of So cial Ser vices. For a list ofcounty wel fare agen cies, go to www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dfd/pro grams/njsnap/cwa.

You can sign up for NJ FamilyCare atany time. There is no lim ited en roll ment pe riod. r

By Joshua Spielberg, Chief Coun sel,Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey Health Care Ac cess Pro ject

NJ FamilyCare for chil dren in cludes bothMedicaid and the Chil dren’s Health In sur ance Pro gram (CHIP).

New Law Pro hib its Mugshot “Ex tor tion” byInternet Pub lish ers

DID YOU KNOW? It is against the law for on line pub lish ers of mugshot and ar rest in -for ma tion to charge you a fee to re move the in for ma tion. You are also en ti tled to suefor dam ages and may even be awarded at tor neys' fees and pu ni tive dam ages for will -ful or reck less vi o la tions of the law.

It may be dif fi cult to find and track these pub lish ers. Some may even op er ate inother coun tries. But they are still sub ject to this law if they do busi ness or use your in -for ma tion in New Jer sey.

On line pub li ca tion of crim i nal re cord in for ma tion, or “mugshots,” can frus tratethe ef forts of re ha bil i tated peo ple to ob tain em ploy ment, se cure hous ing, and befree of other neg a tive con se quences that can hin der their prog ress.

With this law, New Jer sey joins more than a dozen other states with sim i lar pro vi -sions out law ing such “ex tor tion prac tices” and pro hib it ing the harm ful ex ploi ta tionof those with crim i nal re cords for fi nan cial gain.

Con tact LSNJ if you run into any is sues with on line pub lish ers us ing your mugshotor ar rest in for ma tion and charg ing a fee for its re moval.

—Akil Roper, Chief Coun sel, Re en try, Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

6 Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018

Ten ant Screen ing Agen cies:Your Rights Un der the Fair Credit Re port ing Act

A land lord re jected my ap pli ca tion for an apart ment due to a prior evic tioncom plaint. The in for ma tion is not cor rect. What can I do to cor rect it?

SOME LAND LORDS may use ten antscreen ing agen cies to run back groundchecks on a rental ap pli cants. A ten antscreen ing re port may pro vide in for ma -tion on an ap pli cant’s rental his tory, in -clud ing evic tion re cords, past ad dresses, So cial Se cu rity ver i fi ca tion, crim i nal his -tory, etc. Land lords, re al tors, and prop -erty man ag ers may rely on these re portswhen de cid ing whether to rent to some -one. If you are re jected be cause of whatis on the re port, and that in for ma tion isin ac cu rate, you have rights un der theFair Credit Re port ing Act (FCRA). Youmay have other rights against the land -lord if you are de nied a unit in vi o la tionof state and fed eral civil rights laws. Also, cer tain types of fed er ally sub si dizedhous ing limit the in stances un der whicha ten ant can be de nied a unit and havean ap peal pro cess.

Here are some steps that you can take to try to cor rect the prob lem:

Step 1: Find out where the in for ma tioncame from. If the re port came from a

third party that is in the busi ness of pro -vid ing “con sumer re ports,” such ascredit re ports or ten ant screen ing re -ports, then the busi ness is a con sumerre port ing agency, and FCRA ap plies.You may find a list of some of the largerten ant screen ing agen cies on the Con -sumer Fi nan cial Pro tec tion Bu reau’swebsite at https://s3.amazonaws.com/f i l e s . con sumer f inance . gov/ f /doc u -ments/cfpb_con sumer-re port ing-com pa -nies-list.pdf.

Step 2: Get a copy of the re port: The de -ci sion to deny you an apart ment con sti -tutes an “ad verse ac tion.” Un der FCRA,the land lord must give you the name, ad -dress and tele phone num ber of theagency that sup plied the re port. Youhave the right to con tact the agency andob tain a free copy of the re port.

Step 3: Re view the re port: You have theright to sub mit a re in ves ti ga tion re questto the ten ant screen ing agency to cor -rect or de lete in ac cu rate or ob so lete in -for ma tion. In most cases, the agencycan not re port neg a tive in for ma tion that is more than seven years old, or bank -rupt cies that are more than 10 years old.A con sumer re port ing agency must userea son able pro ce dures to en sure themax i mum pos si ble ac cu racy of the in -for ma tion con tained in the re port. In -for ma tion on a con sumer re port may be“in ac cu rate” if it is po ten tially mis lead -ing. Even if what is on the re port is true,it may be mis lead ing if the in for ma tion is

You have the right to con tact the ten antscreen ing agency and ob tain a free copy ofthe re port.

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018 7

not com plete—for in stance, if it doesnot in clude the out come of the case.What is “in ac cu rate” is a de vel op ing area of case law, so it would be best to speakwith an at tor ney for fur ther guid ance.

Step 4: Con tact the Agency: You can sub -mit a writ ten re quest to the agency tocor rect or de lete in ac cu rate, mis lead -ing, or ob so lete in for ma tion. Your let tershould in clude the fol low ing:l Your com plete name and ad dress.l Each item that you dis pute on the

re port. (You may want to also en -close a copy of the re port witheach of the dis puted items cir -cled.)

l Cop ies of all sup port ing ev i dencel A state ment of facts ex plain ing

why you dis pute the item(s), in -clud ing a ref er ence to any en -closed ev i dence.

l A re quest that the in for ma tion bere moved or cor rected.

Send your re quest by cer ti fied mail, re -turn re ceipt re quested. Keep a copy ofyour let ter for your re cords. The re port -ing agency typ i cally has 30 days to in ves ti -

gate the mat ter free of charge, un lessthey con sider your dis pute friv o lous.Even if the cor rec tion is made, you may havegrounds to sue if the agency did not use rea son -able pro ce dures to en sure the max i mum pos si -ble ac cu racy of the in for ma tion in the re port.

Step 5: What can I do if the cor rec tion isnot made? At a min i mum, you can ask the com pany to in clude a brief sum mary, ex -plain ing why the in for ma tion is dis puted, in fu ture re ports. You can also sub mit acom plaint to the Con sumer Pro tec tionFi nan cial Bu reau, www.consumerfinance.gov/com plaint, or the Fed eral Trade Com -mis sion, www.ftc.gov/faq/con sumer-pro tec -tion/sub mit-con sumer-com plaint-ftc. Youshould con sult an at tor ney to see if youhave grounds to sue the re port ing agency in court. Some con sumer at tor neys maytake the case on a con tin gency fee ba sis.This means that you do not have to paymoney up front and the at tor ney getspaid if you win the case or if it set tles. Asuit must be filed two years af ter you dis -cover the vi o la tion, or five years af ter itoc curs, which ever is ear lier. r

By Linda Babecki, and Al ice Kwong, Co-Chief Coun sel,Hous ing, Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey

You can sub mit a writ ten re quest to the agency to cor rect or

de lete in ac cu rate, mis lead ing, or ob so lete in for ma tion.

LE GAL SER VICES OF NEW JER SEY

Ac cess le gal in for ma tion and re sources

www.LSNJLAW.org

GET LE GAL HELP

Con tact Our State wide Le gal Hot line, LSNJLAWSM

1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529)

www.LSNJLAWHOTLINE.org

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

8 Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018

How to Find Le gal Forms toRep re sent Your self in Court

FOR MANY LE GAL prob lems, the le galsys tem uses forms, which are ba si cally“fill in the blank” le gal doc u ments. Thisar ti cle will tell you how to find forms,how to fill out forms, and how to fileforms if you are rep re sent ing your self.This ar ti cle will also tell you where youcan get help.

What is the best way to find forms? The eas i est way to find forms is to do a

Google search, but this may not the bestway be cause you may have to do ex trawork to make sure the form is le gally cor -rect. You may also have to pay for theform. Use Google search as a last re sortor when you are look ing for non-courtdoc u ments like a lease, a will, or a deed.

The best way to find forms, es pe ciallywhen you are rep re sent ing your self, is to go to the of fi cial website of the court oragency where the case is filed. An othergood place to find forms is in a law li -brary. Ask the law li brar ian for the lo ca -tion of the form books and then look inthe in dex. If you have trou ble find ingthe form you need, try con tact ing theLSNJLAWSM hot line or the Ju di ciaryOm buds man for help. [See box be low.]

How can I tell if I’ve foundthe cor rect form?

1. The cor rect form will help you act onyour le gal prob lem. Some forms willtell you how they can be used. Youcan also look at the ti tle of the formto see if the words in the ti tle matchyour le gal prob lem. Look for wordslike com plaint, lease, or an swer.Look for the names of courts or ad -min is tra tive agen cies like SmallClaims or Di vi sion of Civil Rights.Last, look for dol lar amounts if youare ask ing for, or be ing sued for,dam ages.

2. The cor rect form can be used in NewJer sey. Re mem ber that each state has dif fer ent laws and only fol lows itsown law. This is es pe cially im por tant when you are us ing a le gal formfrom the Web.

3. The cor rect form is the cur rent ver -sion of the form. Forms can bechanged if the law changes. Do notuse an out-of-date form. To check ifa form is cur rent, look for a date onthe top or bot tom cor ners of theform.

What is the NJ Ju di ciaryOm buds man’s Of fice?

What do they do?Where are they lo cated?

The NJ Ju di ciary Om buds man’sOf fice is part of the New Jer seycourt sys tem. The Ju di ciary Om -buds man can help you un der -stand how the court works. TheJu di ciary Om buds man can notgive le gal ad vice, per form le galre search, or talk to a judge foryou. Ev ery county has an Om -buds man who you can email orcall. Some Om buds men have of -fices at the court house. To findyour county's om buds man, go towww.njcourtsonline and en ter Om -buds man Di rec tory in the searchfield.

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018 9

Are forms avail able in other lan guages?Some forms are avail able in lan guages

be sides Eng lish. The in struc tions for fill -ing out the form will also be writ ten in the other lan guage. You will, how ever, haveto en ter your an swers in Eng lish.

How should I fill out the form?Some le gal forms can be filled out on -

line and printed. You should type theform or make sure that your hand writ -ing is easy to read. When you fill out aprinted form by hand, you should use ablack pen. Make sure that there are nospell ing or gram mar mis takes.

Be sure to an swer all of the ques tions.If a ques tion does not ap ply to you, write“n.a.” [n.a. stands for not ap pli ca ble]. Ifyou are not sure of a date, time, oramount, write ap prox i mately. If youdon’t know the an swer, write “I don’tknow” or “no knowl edge.”

When law yers fill out a form, they fre -quently cre ate a draft copy. Later theylook at the draft and then make anychanges be fore mak ing a fi nal doc u -ment. If you can, get two cop ies of theform and fill out the first copy as a draft.

When you are fin ished fill ing out theform, make at least two cop ies and putone in a safe place.

If you need help fill ing out a form,

the LSNJLAWSM Hot line and the Ju di -ciary Om buds man can help.

How do I file a form? Not all forms need to be filed. But if

you are fill ing out forms for a law suit, the form must be filed with the court that isde cid ing the law suit. You can ei ther mail the forms to the court clerk or go to theclerk’s of fice at the court house. You willneed the form, cop ies of the form, and afee for fil ing the form. .The clerk willstamp the form, keep a copy, and re turnyour cop ies to you. You can find a list offees at www.njcourts.gov/forms/11112_courtfees.pdf. If you need help topay a fee, you can ask for a fee waiver.Find in for ma tion about fee waiv ers onour website, www.lsnjlaw.org (enter feewaiv ers in the search box). r

Find court forms, in clud ing a sum mons forsmall claims court, on the New Jer sey Ju di -ciary's website, www.njcourtsonline.com.

LSNJLAWSM, Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey’s State wide,Toll-Free Le gal Hot line

Read more about your le gal rights on our website, www.lsnjlaw.org. If youhave ques tions or need le gal ad vice with a civil le gal mat ter, con tactLSNJLAWSM, Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey’s state wide, toll-free le gal hot line,at 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529). You may also ap ply on line athttps://lsnjlawhotline.org. Hot line hours are Mon day through Fri day, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Hot line pro vides free le gal as sis tance to low-in come New Jer -sey res i dents in civil le gal is sues. If you are not el i gi ble for as sis tance from Le -gal Ser vices, the hot line will re fer you to other pos si ble re sources.

By Rebecca Press man, Law Li brar ian, Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

10 Looking Out For Your Legal Rights / March 2018

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

El período de inscripción para el mercadode seguros de salud ha terminado, pero

con un SEP todavía puede inscribirseLA “INSCRIPCIÓN ABIERTA” para comprar elseguro privado para el 2018 a través del mercadofed eral de seguros médicos (www.healthcare.gov)concluyó el 15 de diciembre de 2017. Si usted yatenía una póliza comprada en el mercado fed eral,las fechas en tre el 1 de noviembre y el 15 dediciembre era el período para volver a inscribirse ocambiar de planes. Todos los estados como NuevaJer sey que utilizan el mercado fed eral usaban esteperíodo limitado de inscripción para el 2018.

Look ing Out For Your Le gal Rights: flip over for Eng lish edi tion

El período de inscripciónpara el mercado de segurosde salud ha terminado, perocon un SEP todavía puedeinscribirse. Página 1

Una nueva ley prohíbe quelos editores de contenido enla Internet usen la fotografíapolicial de alguien paraluego “extorsionar” a esaper sona. Página 6

Look ing OutFor Your Le gal RightsFlip is sue over for the

Eng lish edi tion ofLook ing Out for Your

Le gal Rights.

El boletín de educación jurídica para los habitantes de Nueva Jer sey

continúa en la página 2

Cuáles Son SusDerechos Legales

Marzo 2018 Publicado por Los Servicios Legales de Nueva Jer sey

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

2 Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales / Marzo 2018

¿Qué pasa si se me pasó el período deinscripción abierta?

Después del 15 de diciembre de2017, la única forma en que podráobtener un plan a través del mercadofed eral para el 2018 es si usted reúne losrequisitos para que se le conceda unperíodo de inscripción es pe cial (SEP).El período es pe cial SEP es el resultadode un evento específico y generalmentetiene 60 días a partir de dicho eventopara solicitar un seguro a través delmercado, Mar ket place. El caso más

común que desencadena un períodoSEP es la pérdida de otra coberturamédica. Por ejemplo, si usted tieneseguro médico a través de su trabajo,pero el 1 de febrero de 2018 lo pierde,usted todavía puede inscribirse en unplan a través del mercado, aunque elperiodo de inscripción para el 2018haya cerrado. Esto se debe a que ustedpodría reunir los requisitos para que sele conceda un período es pe cial SEPsiempre y cuando usted se inscriba an tes de que pasen 60 días a partir del 1 defebrero (para el 1 de abril de 2018).Tenga en cuenta que si desea que lacobertura comience a partir del primerdía de un mes especifíco, usted necesitainscribirse a más tardar el día 15 del mesan te rior. (Si desea obtener coberturacomenzando el 1ero de marzo, ustedtiene que inscribirse an tes del 15 defebrero).

Lo cual se aplica si es despedido,abandona su empleo, o tiene unareducción en las horas que hace que yano le permita participar en el planbrindado por el trabajo. También seaplica si usted pierde el seguro del

Cuáles Son Sus Derechos LegalesCon respecto a Look ing Out

Look ing Out for Your Le gal Rights® es publicada 10 veces al año

por los Servicios Legales de Nueva Jer sey. Si usted es un

cliente de los Servicios Legales, puede obtener una copia en

la oficina de Servicios Legales de su localidad. También

puede leer Look ing Out en nuestro s it io Web

www.lsnj.org/espanol.

Suscripciones

La suscripción cuesta $20 dólares por año.

Números atrasados

Puede ver números atrasados en www.lsnj.org/espanol.

Cambio de dirección

Si se muda, envíenos su nueva dirección y una copia de la

etiqueta pegada al último ejemplar de Look ing Out.

Comentarios

Si tiene alguna sugerencia o comentario con respecto a Look -

ing Out, nos gustaría oírlo. Envíe toda correspondencia a:

Ed i tor, Look ing Out Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey

P.O Box 1357Ed i son, NJ [email protected]

Este boletín de noticias es sólo una información gen eral.Si tiene un problema jurídico, usted debería ver a unabogado.

Una parte del costo de esta publicación se cubrió con laayuda proporcionada por el fondo IOLTA del colegio deabogados de Nueva Jer sey.

© 2018 Le gal Ser vices of New Jer sey

continúa de la página 1

Generalmente bajo las reglas del período deinscripción es pe cial, usted tiene 60 días apartir del evento agravante para solicitar unseguro a través del mercado.

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales / Marzo 2018 3

trabajo debido al divorcio, la separaciónle gal o la muerte de su cónyuge.Igualmente se le puede conceder unSEP si la cobertura con tinúa a través desu empleador (como CO BRA) caduca,si su plan médico para estudiantescaduca, o si pierde la cobertura quetenía por medio de su primogénitoporque cumplió 26 o 30 años de edad.Una per sona que en la actualidad estérecibiendo NJ FamilyCare y se le cancela debido a un aumento en los ingresos oalgún otro cambio, también reúne losrequisitos para un período SEP.

Otros ejemplos de eventos quedesencadenan un SEP son:l Si sale de la prisión o la cárcel;l Si la contribución que tiene que

pagar para su plan en el trabajoaumenta por encima de un ciertonivel;

l Si acaba de hacerse ciudadano oresidente le gal en los EE.UU;

l Si usted contrae matrimonio;l Si adopta a un niño;l Si se muda a Nueva Jer sey desde

otro estado.

Comprar un seguro médico puede ser muy costoso. Por ejemplo, en Nueva Jer -sey una per sona sola de 62 años de edad,tiene que pagar aproximadamente 893dólares por mes para obtener un plan

con un de duc ible de 900 dólares y uncopago de 15 dólares por medicamentosgenéricos. En virtud de la ley ACA, sinem bargo, las per so nas con ingresos bajosy moderados pueden recibir asistenciafinanciera, a fin de que el mismo planpara una per sona con ingresos anualesen el to tal de 18.000 dólares tendría uncosto de 195 dólares por mes, con un de -duc ible de 0 dólares y copagos de 5dólares para los medicamentosgenéricos. Todavía podría ser difícil depagar esta cantidad, pero es muchomejor que no tener ninguna asistencia.Hay subvenciones para el pago de lasprimas, conocidas como Ad vance Pre -mium Tax Cred its (APTC), que estándisponibles en montos de acuerdo a losingresos hasta el 400% del nivel fed eralde pobreza, (FPL). También puedebuscar en el mercado diferentes planesque tienen precios más bajos, perodeducibles y copagos más al tos, y obtener ayuda con una reducción de costoscompartidos (CSR) para los planes Sil ver. Las reducciones CSR están disponiblesen caso de ingresos hasta un 250% delnivel fed eral de pobreza.

¿Cómo se calcula el ingreso?Para determinar si se reúnen los

requisitos para recibir la asistenciafinanciera del mercado, Medicaid y

Per so nas enla fa milia

Límite anual de subsidios endólares (APTC) en el mercado

Límite anual de las reduccionesde costos compartidos (CSR) en

el mercado

1 $ 48.560 $ 30.350

2 $ 65.840 $ 41.150

3 $ 83.120 $ 51.950

4 $100.400 $ 62.750

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

4 Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales / Marzo 2018

CHIP, se utiliza un método para elrecuento de los ingresos. Este se llama lamodificación del ingreso bruto ajustado o metodología “MAGI”. Con pocasexcepciones, es el mismo método que se utiliza para calcular el ingreso brutoajustado (AGI) en una declaración deimpuestos federales. Normalmente,sólo los ingresos familiares que estánsujetos a impuestos se cuentan paradeterminar el acceso a estos programas.Por ejemplo, el SSI y la manutenciónpara menores no se contabilizan comoingresos porque estos no son sujetos alpago de impuestos. También puederestar las cantidades que contribuya alos planes de jubilación tales como elIRA porque, al momento de determinarel AGI, estas contribuciones sondeducibles.

¿Cómo puedo solicitar cobertura através del mercado, Mar ket place?Usted puede solicitar un plan en el

sitio Web www.healthcare.gov o llamar al1-800-318-2596. Si desea que le atiendan en per sona, vaya a la sección “Encuentre ayuda lo cal” en el s i t io Webhealthcare.gov e ingrese su código postalo póngase en contacto con uno de losorganismos mencionados en elresultado para obtener ayuda.

Cen ter for Fam ily Ser vices(En inglés)Los condados de At lan tic,Burlington, Cam den, Cape May,Cum ber land, Glou ces ter y Sa lem 1-877-9-AC CESS (1-877-922-2377)

La elegibilidad al Medicaid para adultos du rante el 2018

Per so nas enla fa milia

Límite de ingresos anuales endólares para recibir el Medicaid

para adultos (138% del FPL)

Límite de ingresos mensuales en dólares para recibir el

Medicaid para adultos(138% del FPL)

1 $ 16.754 $ 1.396

2 $ 22.715 $ 1.893

3 $ 28.667 $ 2.389

4 $ 34.638 $ 2.887

Los requisitos para participar en el Medicaid y CHIP para niños du rante el 2018

Per so nas enla fa milia

Límite de ingresos anuales endólares para recibir el

Medicaid infantil

Límite de ingresos anuales endólares para participar en el

programa CHIP

1 $ 17.846 $ 43.097

2 $ 24.197 $ 58.433

3 $ 30.547 $ 73.769

4 $ 36.897 $ 89.105

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales / Marzo 2018 5

Jew ish Re nais sance Med i calCen ter (En inglés)Los condados de Essex y Un ion (973) 564-1415 (New ark) (732) 347-8095 (Perth Amboy)

Fam ily Re source Net work, Inc.(En inglés) Los condados de Hunterdon,Mer cer, Mor ris, Ocean ySomerset (800) 355-0271

The Food Bank of Monmouthand Ocean Coun ties (En inglés)(732) 643-5888

Además, los centros médicos quereciben fondos federales en Nueva Jer -sey, Fed er ally Qual i fied Health Cen ters(FQHC) tienen asesores certificadosque proporcionan asistencia gratuitacon el proceso de solicitud. Consulte elsitio Lo cate a Health Cen ter, http://njpca.site-ym.com/?page=LocateCenter,(publicado por New Jer sey Pri mary Care As so ci ates) (en inglés) dondeencontrará una lista de dichos centros.

Los requisitos para participar en elNJ FamilyCare

An tes de inscribirse para obtener unseguro a través del mercado, deberíaverificar si usted y su fa milia reúnen losrequisitos para participar en el NJFamilyCare. Si se in scribe en el NJFamilyCare, probablemente no tendráque pagar una prima, de duc ible ocopago.

De acuerdo a la Ley de Cuidado deSalud Asequible (ACA), muchos nuevosindividuos reúnen los requisitos paraparticipar en el Medicaid (conocido en

Nueva Jer sey como NJ FamilyCare ). EnNueva Jer sey, adultos en tre los 19 y los65 años de edad ahora pueden recibir elMedicaid si su ingreso fa mil iar es igual oestá por debajo del 138% del nivel fed -eral de pobreza (FPL).

El NJ FamilyCare para niños incluyeel Medicaid y el Programa de SeguroMédico para Niños (CHIP). El Medicaidy CHIP tienen diferentes límites deingresos y diferentes planes decobertura, pero ambos caen dentro delprograma NJ FamilyCare.

El límite de ingresos de Medicaid paraniños es el 147% del FPL. Los niños quereúnen los requisitos del Medicaid soninscritos en el Plan A. Los niños coningresos por encima de ese límite dehasta el 355% del FPL pueden serinscritos en el Programa de SegurosMédicos para Niños (CHIP).Dependiendo de sus ingresos, los niñosque reúnen los requisitos de CHIP soninscritos en el Plan B, C o D y tal veztengan que pagar una parte mayor delcosto. Los niños con ingresos porencima del 150% del FPL tienen quehacer un pequeño copago, y los niñossobre el 200% tienen que pagar unapequeña prima.

¿Cómo puedo solicitar el NJFamilyCare?

Si usted piensa que sus ingresos sonlo suficientemente bajos como parapoder recibir el NJ FamilyCare, solicitepor medio de la Internet njfamilycare.org(en inglés) o llame al 1-800-701-0710.Además de los programas de NJFamilyCare basados en sus ingresos,también hay programas de Medicaiddentro del NJ FamilyCare cuyaparticipación se basa en la discapacidad

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey

6 Cuáles Son Sus Derechos Legales / Marzo 2018

o la edad del individuo (mayores de 65).Usted puede solicitar en per sona a todos los programas de Medicaid ya sea

basados en los ingresos, discapacidad oedad con sólo ir a la junta de serviciossociales en su condado. Para obtenermás información, vea las agencias delbienestar público del condado (jun tasde Servicios Sociales), www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dfd/pro grams/njsnap/cwa(publicado por el Departamento deServicios Humanos en Nueva Jer sey)(en inglés).

Usted puede inscribirse en el NJFamilyCare en cualquier momento. Nohay un l ímite en el período deinscripción. r

Este artículo fue traducido del inglés por Al Moreno,coordinador del servicio lingüístico en LSNJ.

El NJ FamilyCare para niños incluye el Medicaid y el Programa de Seguro Médicopara Niños (CHIP).

Una nueva ley prohíbe que los editores de contenido en la Internet usenla fotografía policial de alguien para luego “extorsionar” a esa per sona

¿SABÍA QUE... es con tra la ley publicar en la Internet fotografías de la fichapolicial y la información del arresto de una per sona para luego cobrarle a esaper sona una tarifa por borrar dicha información? De ser su caso, usted tienederecho a demandar por daños y perjuicios e incluso le podrían adjudicardinero para cubrir los honorarios del abogado y daños punitivos por violacionesintencionales e imprudentes con tra la ley.

Puede ser difícil de encontrar y seguirles la pista a estas per so nas que pub li -can dichos materiales, debido a que algunos de ellos incluso pueden estaroperando desde otros países. Pero como estos llevan a cabo negocios o utilizansu información en Nueva Jer sey todavía están sujetos a esta ley.

La publicación en la Internet de información respecto a los antecedentespenales, o la “foto policial” de una per sona, puede frustrar los esfuerzos de lamisma para encontrar un empleo, una vivienda segura, y estar li bre de cualquier consecuencia negativa que pueda obstaculizar su progreso después de habersido rehabilitada.

Con esta ley, Nueva Jer sey se une a más de una docena de Estados que tienendisposiciones similares declarando ilícitas las “prácticas de extorsión” yprohibiendo la explotación perjudicial de aquellas per so nas con antecedentespenales con el fin de obtener una ganancia monetaria.

Si surge algún problema con alguien que esté usando la información de sudetención o su foto policial para cobrarle una tarifa por borrar dichos artículos,póngase en contacto con LSNJ.

© 2018 Legal Services of New Jersey