Health Insurance

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Brian if you don’t mind me asking is that your social security and any 401K draws combined? I’ve been looking through using the estimator combining what I estimate for both combined in the low $50’s and the decent Silver level seem to be around $375 per month. I’ll need 2 1/2 years worth to bridge from the end of my 18 months of insurance given for an early retirement package and 65 / Medicare. I’m considering taking out enough in a lump draw to supplement the SS for the 2 1/2 years so I can report SS income only for those.

I not old enough for SS yet. That is in IRA withdraw. It can be a little tricky as you have to include all income. Any Interest, Capital Gains and Dividends. My biggest Dividends usually don't post until mid Dec which threw me off last year. I went over by $3,000 and had to pay penalty but it was not to much. I withdrew 20,000 this year and the other 5,000 came from the rest. Insurance Brokers are free and can help you get the best plan for you and do all the filing. The GOV site has a search for broker in your area. My broker keeps trying to get me to do the no cost plans but have high deductibles. He said he had 3 operations and still did not have to pay much. I have a very low deductible and pay $160 a month. Not sure who services your area but I got a lot better rate going direct to Ins site, for me BCBCTX. The Gov site did not give me any good choices. I had to play around with income to get a good plan. That is where I came up with $25,000.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I assume you had to pay back because your income ended up grossly higher than your estimate?

One more thing is you need to find a doctor that will accept the insurance. This is very important. I got lucky and a friends daughter worked for a doctor and got me in. Probably no private doctor going to take this. Usually doctors associated with Hospital will take but they only do a certain percentage. You really need to find a doctor and go for a visit to before hand to become a patient so you know you have a doctor. A friend joined couple years ago and they tried to send him to Houston. He had to find another ins.

 

[TripleLindy]

I assume you had to pay back because your income ended up grossly higher than your estimate?

Not grossly higher, but higher. The income limit for a couple used to be something like $65k, which is what I used for my estimate and I went over that by a few $k. Once over the limit, I had to pay back every penny of the subsidy - something like $15k. The rules have changed and the subsidy cliff has been eliminated, at least through 2025.

 

[jcam222]

I not old enough for SS yet. That is in IRA withdraw. It can be a little tricky as you have to include all income. Any Interest, Capital Gains and Dividends. My biggest Dividends usually don't post until mid Dec which threw me off last year. I went over by $3,000 and had to pay penalty but it was not to much. I withdrew 20,000 this year and the other 5,000 came from the rest. Insurance Brokers are free and can help you get the best plan for you and do all the filing. The GOV site has a search for broker in your area. My broker keeps trying to get me to do the no cost plans but have high deductibles. He said he had 3 operations and still did not have to pay much. I have a very low deductible and pay $160 a month. Not sure who services your area but I got a lot better rate going direct to Ins site, for me BCBCTX. The Gov site did not give me any good choices. I had to play around with income to get a good plan. That is where I came up with $25,000.

I definitely need to talk to one of the brokers.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I'm new to this forum but I wanted to chime in on the topic of health insurance. I'm glad that the ACA is available for those of us who need it. It's interesting to hear about your experience with meeting your deductible only once in 5 years. I think that's a common experience for many people who have insurance for catastrophic events, rather than day-to-day healthcare needs.

I been on it for couple years now. I ended up getting a great plan with low deductible and have hardly had to pay for anything. One thing I found was not to use the GOV site to find plan. In my case I went directly to the BCBSTX site. The plan I am on does not show on the GOV site with the low deductible. Also when looking for plans enter different year incomes. I found for me $25,000 was what got my plan to show up with the low deductible of $200.

 

[fxsales1959]

I am thinking of pulling the plug on work when I turn 60 next year. So tired of the 60 mile commute into Dallas 5 days a week and working with Heavy metals. Is anybody getting health insurance through healthcare.gov? I guess its Obama care. From what I can tell if income less than $48000 for single person you get around a $850 monthly credit and would end up costing me about $270 a month.

Well, its the government, but we utilize the servic to get health care for my wife and I as neither of our "employers provide. My experience is to ll and hope you get a semi inttelligent agent.
You'll still pay the insurance provider direct, but there cn be subsidie shown on your monthly payment, and a 1095 tax form at the end of the year. We have to be "creative with our taxes as I am contract employed 1099. and file as a business owner. we get a F#$king filing seperately, but my wife is a teacher at a private academy. our combined income disallows subsidies. we got a good agent that figured a way to get my wife enrolled without claiming my income. (your mileage may vary. After .ubsidies we pay over $1000 a month, but I've had some pretty serious health history. My Blue cross unsubsidised would be $1300/month. I pay$829.00
My wife pays around $250 after subsidy. thru Cigna,. Still a F&*king, but my heart surgery would have been over $150K. They will "show" you a bunch of options. I chose the one with the lowest deductible, as i still owe my deductible from my surgery. Hope this helps. The health care industry is Mucking fess here in the US. I could tell stories, but

 

[jcam222]

I’m working on researching this now for a new beginning in 2025 Ohio. So far I’ve found a plan with a low deductible, $8K out of pocket max, $25 primary physician visits and $3 generic meds as some of the highlights that appeal to me. Looks like with my projected income between SS and retirement fund(s) draw I’ll be paying around $500 a month on. United Healthcare silver plan. Also includes dental and vision. I’ve seen many of you mention agents who specialize in helping find the package that best meets your needs. Where do you find these folks?

 

[chopsaw]

paying around $500 a month on. United Healthcare silver plan. Also includes dental and vision.

I get a United Health care Advantage plan through the Carpenters . $310.00 a month plus another $145.00 deducted from SS .
Been with the Carpenters insurance since 1989 . No reason I could see to switch now .
Maybe you provider now has something ?

 

[jcam222]

I get a United Health care Advantage plan through the Carpenters . $310.00 a month plus another $145.00 deducted from SS .
Been with the Carpenters insurance since 1989 . No reason I could see to switch now .
Maybe you provider now has something ?

My provider at work now is Anthem. I am retiring in June but as part of package will receive 18 months of company subsidized COBRA for 18 months at the nice low cost I have now as an employee. I will however then need to cover 26 months prior to 65 and Medicare.

 

[chopsaw]

My provider at work now is Anthem.

I had to over come the gap in coverage too , just happened to work out that the Cobra took me right up too what I needed . Might be worth asking someone in the benefits office if you haven't already . Maybe there are some options there .

 

[Winterrider]

jcam222 ,I see you do have Sanford in your area. If reasonably healthy, we went thru Marketplace and got the wife on the Sanford 7000 plan.
$288.90 / month. I paid a ridiculous premiums price through Cobra for Ins after leaving the workforce. Our HR person said it was the way to go so didn't look at other options. Foolish on my part.

 

[jcam222]

jcam222 ,I see you do have Sanford in your area. If reasonably healthy, we went thru Marketplace and got the wife on the Sanford 7000 plan.
$288.90 / month. I paid a ridiculous premiums price through Cobra for Ins after leaving the workforce. Our HR person said it was the way to go so didn't look at other options. Foolish on my part.

I’ll check that company out! Luckily as a part of a severance the company is subsidizing the Cobra keeping the premium the same as what I play as a direct employee. Other than that Cobra would be outrageous. Thanks

 

[KimberlyO]

Hi.

I needed to retire at 58 and am also on the Affordable Care Act. The deductible is based on how much you are willing/can afford to pay for the premium. So for me, the deductible is pretty high ($5800). What it does give me is peace of mind that if something catastrophic happens, I will not be in debt for the rest of my life. Not everything I wanted from my health insurance certainly, but it is something.

To find out what your premium would be, go to https://www.healthcare.gov/get-coverage/. You can get your actual premium amount there and know exactly what you are getting into before committing. Good luck and I hope you find a solution that works for you.

Take care.
Kim.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I pay $160 a month with a $200 deductible but I only have $25,000 a year income. Luckily have some savings to supplement it to get me to 65. My savings will be gone by than but replace that with IRA withdraws and will start medicare. I get my first SS in August. Looking forward to that. Not living the high life but I am happy to not be working and have enough to do to keep busy. Air conditioner went out yesterday and have someone coming today. Hopefully not major. I tried putting new cap in and contactor suppling 240.

 

[bill1]

I have no expertise in the subject but COBRA just guarantees you're paying at the same group rate as your former employer. Depending on how much your former employer was kicking in as a perk (which can range from 0-90+%) what you pay for that insurance after you leave the employer can be MUCH greater than before. With the exception of a few retirement programs, few employers kick in anything for ex-employees so COBRA definitely does NOT mean the same out-of-pocket cost to you.