My husband and I both used to be self-employed. What we ended up doing was buying a "catastrophy insurance" plan that was about 60 bucks a month for both of us. There was a 5k deductable, so it obviously didn't cover any routine doctor's visits, prescriptions, etc. However, we had the reassurance that if something awful were to happen (car accident, etc.) that it wouldn't send us flying into debt past 5k, because our insurance would kick in then. What I suggest is to find something along those lines, and then also pick an amount to sock away each month - whether you can afford 50, 100, even just 10 bucks. Keep putting that into an account, and then when you do get sick and have an unexpected doctor's visit, you can pull from that fund to pay for it out of pocket. Another thing you may want to look into is an HSA that the government now offers. These were not available when my husband and I were self-employed, so I don't know terribly much about them, but from the little I know, it would have been a valid option for us. The last thing is also that there are some Christian groups who offer plans in which it's a kind of "share and share alike" mentality. You put in however much you can afford based upon your income. Then, whoever in the group needs money, takes it, with the assumption that once they are better, they will pay into the system and allow someone else in need to take the money. One such system is called "Medi-care" or is it "medi-share"..hmm..one of those two! We had friends who were in a group like this for their family of 4. They seemed to be pleased. I don't remember which exact group they were part of, but it's another idea. I don't have any personal experience with a group like this, so I can't say for sure, but our friends did recommend it to us when we were trying to figure out the whole health insurance thing.

I am 3 mos from medicare and currently looking for the right supplemental insurance. As a single person, my current insurance is 780 per mo with a 2000 deductable. They doubled my premium the minute I turned 64. Tried to find another insurance but simple issues like a prescription used once, allows them to deny me. The only insurance I could find which would cover me had a 20,000 deductable and wouldn't cover existing condition for 6 mos....340 a month. And, my current insurance would not let me change my policy to lower monthly costs. Different states have different laws and has nothing to do with the same insurance company. If I had lived in FL the change was available, my state doesn't support this. With all, I stayed and paid...figured it was an additional 4,000 this year to keep my sanity after all the hours of searching for insurance that didn't want me. Had never gone to the doctor except for a yearly physical....this year I am staying completely away from them to eliminate the 2,000 deductable. I am greatful that I can eek by for a few more months with the increase, but it irks me everytime I write the check. I do have a medical problem, but it doesn't require care and only take a cheap medication. I was healthy as a horse until a year ago, but cannot feel comfortable without health insurance knowing how quickly our health can change. Without insurance they could take everything beyond my home and car...but then how would I pay for them, upkeep, etc. without my small cushion beyond social security income. And if you can't keep them, you sell and have money and they can take that. Am in the middle, have enough to live comfortably, not an extreme lifestyle, and figure I can live another 15 years this way...if health stays in line and hopefully medicare years will ease the burden of high insurance payments. My savings cushion however eliminates any outside help/benefits....you either have to be destitute or a millionaire to survive. Middle pays the way. At a time when retirement should be the best of our years, it evolves into spending the least you can and putting up with the "big guys" taking as much as they can. I sincerely worry about my children and what they will be looking at in the future to care for themselves. How much more all of this will cost and how long will they have to work to pay for all. Maybe I should have put this ramble under another thread. But the question about how much for health care really wasn't answered due to what is such a broad environment that we as retirees live in.

...one of the bigger abusers of Medicare is Medicare itself. I don't think you can assume that Medicare did nothing about it just because you didn't receive a corrected billing notice nor a notice from Medicare as to what action they did or did not take. They very well could be compiling "a case" against the provider of the false/inaccurate billing. Or, Medicare could have recouped some of the dollars, but you are not notified nor privy to that having happened. But you did your duty in notifying Medicare. Props for that! Same thing with the statement that "everyone" knows someone who has defrauded Medicare etc (personally, I don't)..... none of us knows all the ins & outs of what goes on outside our own range of vision. This latest court ruling ... that the mandates are unconstitutional... is just one court of several that have "decided" & those decisions have been on both sides of the debate. This isn't the "last" nor final decision. It will ultimately be decided by the US Supreme Court. Obviously, there are lawyers & judges who believe that it is constitutional & probably just as many who believe not. I personally hope that the Affordable Care Act remains intact. It really won't affect me directly, but I believe everyone deserves health care. Having everyone covered helps to assure that. My understanding is that if you are low income you will receive a$$istance with the premiums. But I don't really know details on that. Certainly there are people who are reaping the benefits of the ACA already... those in the donut hole with their Medicare Rx coverage, pre-existing conditions/children's health insurance. I know my own insurance now covers adult immunizations & no longer has a lifetime limit for coverage. I think it would be must better to keep ACA & tweak it than to dump it & start over, particularly considering the contentious environment we have in DC.

I hope it didn't sound like I don't have compassion for the mentally ill, Oakley. I very much do, which is why I work with that population. And I know that not all bipolar sufferers are aggressive or at all dangerous to be around, even when manic. Brittney's father may control her funds, but even if it was court ordered, Brittney's case is an outlier. Most "regular" people don't have the resources to contain a seriously mentally ill adult child. Even if they have the legal right to compel the ill person to live in a particular place and take meds, etc., they have no physical way to make that happen if the person wants to leave or refuses medication. I've had clients who routinely skip out the bedroom window, prostitute themselves, run away, use illegal drugs, participate in very dangerous behaviors, and the legal guardian has the right to call the police and report that the person is gone without permission and off their meds. That doesn't make the client magically appear safely back in the house, palm held out and eager to take their meds. I work with families who go through this regularly. They can't afford henchmen to keep the ill person contained or under observation. They can't always physically withstand the ill person as they tear out the door. Etc. Brittney's father has resources that many do not. I certainly do hope the OP's friend has compassion for her husband. I also don't think having compassion for him means you want to play roulette with his genes if you don't have to. I may be a grump about it because of all the stuff I see at work. I have no rainbows and unicorn stories but lots of terrified and worn out family members. NAMI.org support groups are a lifesaver for some of them.