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Health Care Insurance

WinniWoman

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Sugarcubesea

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I am in the same boat as some of you. I was laid off from my job over a year ago and am paying Cobra. It runs out Dec. 1. DH goes on Medicare Oct. 1. I can't find a job with health benefits. I think they think I am over-qualified or too old. The best I can find under ACA for me alone is $993 a month. We only have two providers to choose from.
The insurance broker suggested looking into Christian Healthcare Ministries. I tooled around on the website last night. It is a strong possibility for me. My medications are not expensive. They also offer a prescription card that seemed to drop the price significantly. There are three plans, and you pay for routine services out of pocket. But you get good coverage for major incidents. Another search now shows there are a number of religion based organizations that work off the same concept, the group helping the individual with large medical expenses. And I'd rather be the person paying in, but never needing the funds.
Never thought I would find myself in this situation.

This is my biggest worry. I’m 56 and I work in the automotive industry and this is an industry that thinks your over the hill the day you turn 50. I’m so hoping that I make it at my company till I’m 65 so I can get Medicare. My financial planner tells me that to have to pay for insurance will take a huge chunk out of my retirement savings.
 

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I am quite certain that I can secure meaningful full-time employment if I want to. If Amazon were to pick our local city as their second HQ, I may reconsider going back to work. We average more than 100 days a year on vacation, i.e. travelling to somewhere else, timesharing, cruising, land touring, visiting friends and family amd not counting golfing locally when we are in town. To work full time means I will have to give up almost all travelling for pleasure. Healthcare insurance cost is certainly the white elephant in our room. My husband does not want me to work anymore and wants me to spend time doing activities and traveling together. I feel that I still have plenty of drive, good grey matter and many productive years in the work force. If I go back to work then maybe I will stop spending 10 hours a day on TUG. :ponder:
 
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WinniWoman

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I am quite certain that I can secure meaningful full-time employment if I want to. If Amazon were to pick our local city as their second HQ, I may reconsider going back to work. We average more than 100 days a year on vacation, i.e. travelling to somewhere else, timesharing, cruising, land touring, visiting friends and family amd not counting golfing locally when we are in town. To work full time means I will have to give up almost all travelling for pleasure. Healthcare insurance cost is certainly the white elephant in our room. My husband does not want me to work anymore and wants me to spend time doing activities and traveling together. I feel that I still have plenty of drive, good grey matter and many productice years in the work force. If I go back to work then maybe I will stop spending 10 hours a day on TUG. :ponder:


Honestly, going back to work sounds depressing. Think long and hard about giving up your autonomy. The appeal vanishes quickly as the drudgery sets in. But I get it about the darn health insurance costs. It really stinks.

For me, just knowing I have at least 4 more years of working full time makes me ill. My anxiety level each day is off the charts. Especially now with winter coming up. I fear something will happen to me because of the stress I feel about it and I won't make it. It's not the actual job, though I am tired of it, but the schedule day to day and the morning rushing around and having no time or energy for much else afterwards. Being accountable. Ugh!

Never mind if I do make it will my husband and I be able to handle trying to sell the house and all it entails to relocate as we will be pushing 70 almost at that point. I feel I should be doing those things NOW- probably should have been doing them 10 years ago! But- alas- the harsh reality is I need to work and I need access to health insurance because my husband will retire before me. If I stop working now, or go part-time, how the heck will I be able to get a full time job with health insurance at age 64? It won't happen. So, though I get health insurance now through my husband, I need to keep working to have access to it for me for when he retires. I don't have the heart to ask him to keep working one more year past age 66 to age 67 for when I turn 65 and can get Medicare. He wants to retire badly also.

Of course, who knows if I will still have this job then. You never know what could happen.

So- I plan our vacations and enjoy our timeshares. Something to look forward to besides more work.
 

vacationhopeful

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Health Care is the WHITE ELEPHANT in many homes ... with people under 65 yo. I spent the last several years counting the MONTHS til I was Medicare qualified.

As for Amazon, they are building a warehouse right now in Southern NJ ... near Paulsboro (on Mantua Grove Road) .. .a million plus square foot warehouse. This was a former Shell Plastic Plant closed for more than a decade. Off I-295 (by 1/4 mile) between the Commodore Barry and Walt Whitman bridges, and about 18 miles from the Delaware Memorial Bridge directly to I-95 going South along the Eastern USA. There is 2 big plots of land leftover ... would be a great location for the 2nd Headquarters to be built somewheres in the USA. PHL airport is less than 2 mile directly across the Delaware River ... 15-20 miles via either the Walt Whitman Bridge or the Commodore Barry Bridge to this airport ...say helicopter flight?

"Quality of Life" is very good .... major city and airport (PHL), good schools, affordable (upscale) housing, developed road network and great dining. Philadelphia is the 5th largest metro area in USA ... 100 miles from either NYC or DC. Many universities and colleges within 20 miles ... U of Penn, Drexel U, Rutgers U, Rowan U, U of DE, West Chester U, Temple U, Jefferson Medical U plus several I don't recall right this minute. Less than 90 miles to the Atlantic Ocean beaches or 120 miles to the Poconos Mountains (with winter ski areas). Plus NY's day has the Philadelphia Mummers' Parade which Amazon could become a MAJOR sponsor. Plus all major professional sports franchises are located in the immediate area ... Chester has professional soccer and PHL for all other teams.
 

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Health Care is the WHITE ELEPHANT in many homes ... with people under 65 yo.

So true! It drove me back into corporate America, but I am happy! I landed a job that is better than I ever dreamed. When individual policies were available at a reasonable price, I could afford to cobble together multiple income streams. I had more time to volunteer, ride my bike, lunch with my girlfriends and travel.
Still, I am very grateful for the job I have now. When circumstances change, you've got to change with them.
 

Sugarcubesea

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Honestly, going back to work sounds depressing. Think long and hard about giving up your autonomy. The appeal vanishes quickly as the drudgery sets in. But I get it about the darn health insurance costs. It really stinks.

For me, just knowing I have at least 4 more years of working full time makes me ill. My anxiety level each day is off the charts. Especially now with winter coming up. I fear something will happen to me because of the stress I feel about it and I won't make it. It's not the actual job, though I am tired of it, but the schedule day to day and the morning rushing around and having no time or energy for much else afterwards. Being accountable. Ugh!

Never mind if I do make it will my husband and I be able to handle trying to sell the house and all it entails to relocate as we will be pushing 70 almost at that point. I feel I should be doing those things NOW- probably should have been doing them 10 years ago! But- alas- the harsh reality is I need to work and I need access to health insurance because my husband will retire before me. If I stop working now, or go part-time, how the heck will I be able to get a full time job with health insurance at age 64? It won't happen. So, though I get health insurance now through my husband, I need to keep working to have access to it for me for when he retires. I don't have the heart to ask him to keep working one more year past age 66 to age 67 for when I turn 65 and can get Medicare. He wants to retire badly also.

Of course, who knows if I will still have this job then. You never know what could happen.

So- I plan our vacations and enjoy our timeshares. Something to look forward to besides more work.
I do understand, I’m so tired every day when I get home. I have decided that to try and put my place up for sale in 2018. I want to downsize now, so that I can move into a new place while I’m still working so that if anything needs to be done to the place I will have the cash fow to do it. I also want to invest in the bars in the bathroom and basically get the house all prepped for my old age before I need it. I hope my plan works, I just went to the funeral home today to pay my respects to a friend that was diagnosed 7 weeks ago with inoperable cancer. So I want to make every day count from now on.
 
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vacationhopeful

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While I agree with you ... I have a business which I run fulltime with physical assets not easily cashed out. I had my house up for sale for 6 months with a realtor who put a USED and SMALL sign out front of the 3.5 acre property. No offers, no active sales action and a OUTRIGHT to my face refusal to release me from the 6 month contract after 3 months of NO ACTION on her part.... I can NOT say ONE nice thing about HER ... and I had a track record with this agent and the office ... which her brother owns. AND she works fulltime in the office ... I don't have a clue as to what she does for 8-10 hours per day in that office.
 

sue1947

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This is my biggest worry. I’m 56 and I work in the automotive industry and this is an industry that thinks your over the hill the day you turn 50. I’m so hoping that I make it at my company till I’m 65 so I can get Medicare. My financial planner tells me that to have to pay for insurance will take a huge chunk out of my retirement savings.

Take a look at individual plans in your area to see if this is actually true. I made the same assumption based on 'conventional wisdom' and was hanging in with my job. A colleague was preparing for retirement and told me they found individual insurance that was cheaper than the group plan. That set me off to investigate and I found I could get individual insurance for $120/month. I took early retirement. Ten years later, my premiums went up each year to a high of $300/month last year but now down to $166 via ACA. It varies by area and circumstances, so look around to see what is available for you.

Sue
 

VacationForever

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Take a look at individual plans in your area to see if this is actually true. I made the same assumption based on 'conventional wisdom' and was hanging in with my job. A colleague was preparing for retirement and told me they found individual insurance that was cheaper than the group plan. That set me off to investigate and I found I could get individual insurance for $120/month. I took early retirement. Ten years later, my premiums went up each year to a high of $300/month last year but now down to $166 via ACA. It varies by area and circumstances, so look around to see what is available for you.

Sue
What sort of plan is this? Is it full medical or catastrophic insurance?
 

sue1947

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What sort of plan is this? Is it full medical or catastrophic insurance?
Full medical bronze plan through the HMO I've been with for 30+ years. I benefited from the attempt to kill the ACA via eliminating the company subsidies which increased my personal subsidy by about $150.
Plans vary greatly across the country and by personal circumstances but my point is to not accept the conventional wisdom and look at things for your specific situation.

Sue
 

VacationForever

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Full medical bronze plan through the HMO I've been with for 30+ years. I benefited from the attempt to kill the ACA via eliminating the company subsidies which increased my personal subsidy by about $150.
Plans vary greatly across the country and by personal circumstances but my point is to not accept the conventional wisdom and look at things for your specific situation.

Sue
Thanks. Unfortunately I have specialists who are on only PPO plans in the private individual market and a medicine that is not covered by HMOs on and off exchange.
 

WinniWoman

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I do understand, I’m so tired every day when I get home. I have decided that to try and put my place up for sale in 2018. I want to downsize now, so that I can move into a new place while I’m still working so that if anything needs to be done to the place I will have the cash fow to do it. I also want to invest in the bars in the bathroom and basically get the house all prepped for my old age before I need it. I hope my plan works, I just went to the funeral home today to pay my respects to a friend that was diagnosed 7 weeks ago with inoperable cancer. So I want to make every day count from now on.


Yes, that sounds like a good plan. If you can keep your job while making the move that is what I would do.

Being we have to stay here in NY right now we did fix up our home in the past 5 years so it is more or less updated and we could basically live on the first floor if we have to-in case our home doesn't sell. We have a pull out couch downstairs. There is a bathroom downstairs also, though a wheel chair couldn't get through the doorway to it or the laundry area, and it is a bathtub/shower- not a shower stall like we have upstairs. And our 700 foot driveway is not a good thing as we age either, not to mention the seclusion. And we have no friends or family here.

Meanwhile, yesterday I saw what seems like the perfect condo for us in New Hampshire in exactly the area I want to live in and it kills me that we can't go yet. I wish we could afford two homes right now, but I learned a lesson many years ago not to buy a home before you sell your present one, never mind years in advance.

Good luck with your plan!
 

WinniWoman

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While I agree with you ... I have a business which I run fulltime with physical assets not easily cashed out. I had my house up for sale for 6 months with a realtor who put a USED and SMALL sign out front of the 3.5 acre property. No offers, no active sales action and a OUTRIGHT to my face refusal to release me from the 6 month contract after 3 months of NO ACTION on her part.... I can NOT say ONE nice thing about HER ... and I had a track record with this agent and the office ... which her brother owns. AND she works fulltime in the office ... I don't have a clue as to what she does for 8-10 hours per day in that office.


The first thing I am going to do when I retire is put the house up for sale on my own- on Craigs' list. And, if that doesn't work, I will use realestateagentsIcantrust.com. Essentially because I do not trust most real estate agents. Though I did have a great experience with a real estate duo I used for my parents home after they passed. But they are in another county.
 

Talent312

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Retirement: I would never contemplate the idea of returning to work.
Every day is Saturday. As seen on a t-shirt: "It's an endless weekend."

Health Insurance: My policy is state employee group, unsubsidized for retirees.
The premiums took the place of the home-mortgage that we paid off.
The $$ goes to the insurance company instead of the bank (for a few more years).


.
 

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Thanks. Unfortunately I have specialists who are on only PPO plans in the private individual market and a medicine that is not covered by HMOs on and off exchange.
Have you asked these specialists what True Self Pay would cost per visit or treatment? Sometimes, cash is the best deal/ The med, check with mfg. My mother has some crazy expensive meds and has been able to negotiate with drug company to pay what she can afford.

Everything is negotiable, right up until the other party says it is their bottom line.

Just this fall I got a dx that now puts me into pre-existing condition stats so I kind of hope concierge medicine catches on as I feel that might be best way for me to navigate from 60 to Medicare. Or maybe I linger in a lesser pt role with same employer at the point I don't want the career job; I'd work PT in the cafeteria happily if it preserved my med ins.
 

VacationForever

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Have you asked these specialists what True Self Pay would cost per visit or treatment? Sometimes, cash is the best deal/ The med, check with mfg. My mother has some crazy expensive meds and has been able to negotiate with drug company to pay what she can afford.

Everything is negotiable, right up until the other party says it is their bottom line.

Just this fall I got a dx that now puts me into pre-existing condition stats so I kind of hope concierge medicine catches on as I feel that might be best way for me to navigate from 60 to Medicare. Or maybe I linger in a lesser pt role with same employer at the point I don't want the career job; I'd work PT in the cafeteria happily if it preserved my med ins.

My issue is a bit more complicated, other than an existing specialist and a medicine that I must have, there is another specialist whom my PCP wanted me to see who does not take any of the exchange plans. It is a long story, but that procedure with a different specialist in the same field whom I saw this year, cost a negotiated rate of $3K with Anthem BCBS. Since I must have this procedure done (again) for next year, buying a PPO plan for next year is the right choice for me.
 

JohnPaul

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Yes, I am anxiously awaiting when I turn 65 in a little over two years. The good news/bad news is that my retirement income is enough that I don't qualify for any subsidies. I'm also fortunate to live in California where there is a strong individual marketplace.

Even so, last year I had a gold plan for $1305 a month. For 2018 it would be around $1500. Luckily my health is pretty good so for 2018 and probably 2019 I went with Kaiser (HMO) with a bronze plan. I pay $899 a month and it doesn't really pay for anything until I've incurred about $6000 in costs. However, by changing plans from my existing I'm saving $600 a month ($7200 for the year) so even if I have to pay the full deductible/max out of pocket I'll be ahead.
 

WinniWoman

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Yes, I am anxiously awaiting when I turn 65 in a little over two years. The good news/bad news is that my retirement income is enough that I don't qualify for any subsidies. I'm also fortunate to live in California where there is a strong individual marketplace.

Even so, last year I had a gold plan for $1305 a month. For 2018 it would be around $1500. Luckily my health is pretty good so for 2018 and probably 2019 I went with Kaiser (HMO) with a bronze plan. I pay $899 a month and it doesn't really pay for anything until I've incurred about $6000 in costs. However, by changing plans from my existing I'm saving $600 a month ($7200 for the year) so even if I have to pay the full deductible/max out of pocket I'll be ahead.


Wow. Those numbers would make me vomit.
 

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My issue is a bit more complicated, other than an existing specialist and a medicine that I must have, there is another specialist whom my PCP wanted me to see who does not take any of the exchange plans. It is a long story, but that procedure with a different specialist in the same field whom I saw this year, cost a negotiated rate of $3K with Anthem BCBS. Since I must have this procedure done (again) for next year, buying a PPO plan for next year is the right choice for me.
Always more complicated, isn't it? Knowing your own situation well is your own best insurance in getting the best insurance for your own situation. Good going, homework is almost always worth doing!
 

Sugarcubesea

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Take a look at individual plans in your area to see if this is actually true. I made the same assumption based on 'conventional wisdom' and was hanging in with my job. A colleague was preparing for retirement and told me they found individual insurance that was cheaper than the group plan. That set me off to investigate and I found I could get individual insurance for $120/month. I took early retirement. Ten years later, my premiums went up each year to a high of $300/month last year but now down to $166 via ACA. It varies by area and circumstances, so look around to see what is available for you.

Sue

Sue,

I will look again at the cost of insurance when I reach 62, as I currently have 2 in college and I'm trying to help them both out a small bit. Thanks, hopefully I can retire sooner than 66
 
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