Health Insurance Nightmares

[pineywoods]

I hear ya. This a big part of decision process in retiring early. My wife was only on ACA for 2 year. I am 10 years younger so I am still not that close to Medicare. Till 2026 my monthly premiums were palatable. Next year will have a higher monthly, but it will likely pay off with the cost of meds and specialists. 2 years during retirement I maxed OOP from accidents/surgeries. While unexpected, I am still active and thus there are things that can happen. 7 years to go.

My wife and I are both over 65 but when we looked at Plan G and the costs we are better off with her work insurance

 

[sandyut]

My wife and I are both over 65 but when we looked at Plan G and the costs we are better off with her work insurance

I believe it! Workplace ins is a great deal. I dont think I ever really new how good it was till I had to buy it on the marketplace. We did Cobra for a minute, that is WAY expensive. That was one decision I regret, but it was only 3-4 months till we sorted everything out.

 

[texomakid]

I decided to go ahead and get medical insurance for 2026 despite the extremely high cost. The cheapest policy for myself and my wife is $2622 per month. I've run several scenarios with & without and as much as this is out of my budget I'm still gonna do it. If we have one catastrophe it could essentially whip out what I worked my entire life to save.

MERICA!

 

[sandyut]

I decided to go ahead and get medical insurance for 2026 despite the extremely high cost. The cheapest policy for myself and my wife is $2622 per month. I've run several scenarios with & without and as much as this is out of my budget I'm still gonna do it. If we have one catastrophe it could essentially whip out what I worked my entire life to save.

MERICA!

OUCH! Ok my monthly sounds better now. I have had a couple accidents in 3 years and both were north of $200K/each. S**t happens.

 

[sandyut]

The ER I went to in Feb finally sent the bill. They were arguing about a $330 "discount" my insurance applied to the $4800 bill. They conceded on the the discount. Pretty ridiculous. I am confident they waisted far more than $330 fussing around with the insurance company. I asked if there was a discount to pay in full...big no. At least I can start next year without that hanging over me.

 

[thirdeye]

The ER I went to in Feb finally sent the bill.

I hate when that happens. I had two physicians that I saw for an annual visit and they were notorious for late billing of my small co-pay amount. So one year I told each one that I would pay the entire bill and submit to insurance. They apologized and I got a statement in about 3 weeks. As it turns out, each one used the same third party company to code and submit the paperwork to insurance companies.

 

[sandyut]

I hate when that happens. I had two physicians that I saw for an annual visit and they were notorious for late billing of my small co-pay amount. So one year I told each one that I would pay the entire bill and submit to insurance. They apologized and I got a statement in about 3 weeks. As it turns out, each one used the same third party company to code and submit the paperwork to insurance companies.

Its pretty lame. When I lived in UT the medical bills were always more than three months after. But 10 months is a joke. Common Spirt pulled the 10 months BS. I dont get that from any other provider in CO...so far

 

[jcam222]

The ER I went to in Feb finally sent the bill. They were arguing about a $330 "discount" my insurance applied to the $4800 bill. They conceded on the the discount. Pretty ridiculous. I am confident they waisted far more than $330 fussing around with the insurance company. I asked if there was a discount to pay in full...big no. At least I can start next year without that hanging over me.

Our local hospital estimates the bill including insurance and offers 20% discount for pay in advance

 

[DougE]

Only good thing I have seen so far with Common Spirit is that the providers in the network use carepayment that lets you make reasonable monthly payments on your balance interest free.