Need advice and/or opinions about health ins.

14 years ago

To make a long story short...DH wants to retire the end of the year or abouts..our concern is health insurance. Since I have had stage0 breast cancer I may have a problem being able to get it without it costing an arm and a leg if I can get it at all. Does anybody have any good recommendations or can steer me in a direction to check into? I am not old enough for Medicare and I read that in order to qualify for state funded health care, you must be without health insurance for 6 months. At this stage in my life, I don't think that's an option.

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Comments (13)

monica_pa Grieves
14 years ago
Does the company DH works for provide any optional insurance for retirees and family, other than Medicare supplements?
Could COBRA possibly fill your needs?
azzalea
14 years ago
I'm assuming that health insurance isn't part of your husband's retirement package? I know a lot of companies are dropping HI for retirees or making the cost prohibitive. One of the reasons my DH is considering retiring within the year IS that we're afraid that sooner or later, his company will stop giving new retirees health coverage as part of their retirement.

Thing about health insurance, practices and prices is that they vary greatly from state to state. You may want to give your state's Insurance Commissioner a call. They'll be able to answer your questions more accurately, for your state, than most of us will. But remember, if you do decide to look into buying your own coverage, make sure the company writes policies in NY and NJ--they have some of the toughest insurance requirements and the companies that meet them are generally pretty solid.
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There are a lot of different issues you need to look at here, especially if your husband has poor health and needs frequent medical care. First of all, it's hard to buy health insurance on your own that's cheaper than what you can get through an employer's group health plan. If your hushand has pre-existing conditions or health conditions for which he is currently under treatment, buying insurance for yourself could be essentially impossible. So be careful before you exit the employer's health plan, because it may be hard to get back in, and you could be left without any coverage at all. Generally speaking, people who purchase health insurance for themselves on the open market (as opposed to being in a group health plan at work) are going to buy some type of major medical plan with a high deductible. This is just about all you can afford if you're paying the whole cost of it yourself. If you do decide to look at plans that you can buy yourself, be very careful to look them over very carefully. For instance, they may have very specific limitations on pre-existing conditions. For instance, if a person takes blood pressure medication, they may refuse to cover the cost of that for the life of your policy. There may also be fairly low limits for "maximum lifetime benefits," meaning that if treatment for a serious illness ever runs in to the hundreds of thousands of dollars (as it easily can), you could at some point exhaust your coverage, and would essentially no longer have insurance. Also, if you or your husband spend a lot on prescription medications, that's something you need to consider carefully. How are these covered under the plan you're looking at? As you know, the costs of some of these drugs can run to thousands of dollars a year, and many "major medical" plans that are basically geared for catastrophic illnesses won't cover them. My suspicion is thst you are going to find that you'd be better sticking with your hushand's employer's group plan. Possibly there are some options there (such as a HMO or preferred-provider plan) that might save you some money, but going out and trying to buy health insurance on your own is usually only a viable option for someone who's in very good health and really does not anticipate needing a lot of medical treatment.
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maddielee
14 years ago
You might want to schedule a meeting with the 'Insurance' person at your DH's company to see what will be available for you.

My husband retired 19 months ago, My insurance was less expensive under COBRA for the 18 months that COBRA covers. Now that COBRA coverage has ended, I am back with my DH's company plan. A couple hundred $$ more monthly.
cynic
14 years ago
If you're pretty healthy otherwise, you could get a policy written with a high deductible at a reasonable price to hold you over for the first 6 months.

COBRA isn't all that it's made out to be. Yes you continue the health care, but you pay the *full* price of it, not the discounted price employees would get. Often that can be a prohibitive price.

You can also check into MinnesotaCare and UCare. I understand they have good coverage at reasonable prices.
magic_arizona
14 years ago
If you are speaking about the pre-existing insurance coverage then yes you do have to be uninsured for six months before you apply. However, if you can bite the bullet and do that (I know it's hard. I just did it), you can get great insurance for a really, really great premium and Low deductible. They cover everything and you won't be denied for anything. It is the best insurance I think I have ever had.

That insurance is only available until 2014 when the law goes into effect which says that all insurance companies must cover you no matter what and can only charge a small percentage in upcharge. At least that's the way I understand it. So, If you are healthy and can go six months, do it.Go to the Doctor and get a complete physical first and let him know what you are planning. Six months goes by fast. Even a catastrophic policy (high deductible, minimal coverage) counts as insurance so don't do that.

The other alternative is your Husband continues to work for two more years.

Here is a link that might be useful: PCIP insurance
maire_cate
14 years ago
cybic - Maybe it's different where you live but my children went on my DH's Cobra after they aged off our regular policy. We paid the employees rate for their coverage.
oldgardener_2009
14 years ago
My sister is on disability and her employer recently canceled her insurance. She was paying $120/month for it when she was working. Under COBRA, she was told her coverage would cost her $700/month.
silvercomet1
14 years ago
I think Minnesota still has a high-risk pool for residents that is separate from the federal program where you have to be uninsured for 6 months. You might have to exhaust COBRA first if it's available to you, but if you're eligible for the MCHA pool then I don't think you have to have the 6-month uninsured gap. Definitely call the office of the insurance commissioner and see if that's an option for you!

Here is a link that might be useful: MCHA
jannie
14 years ago
Medicare is only for people 65 and older, those "disabled" for over 2 years or on kidney dialysis. If you have cancer, have you stopped work and applied for Social Security Disability Benefits?
joyfulguy
14 years ago
Move one jump north over your state's border, maybe?

o j
cynic
14 years ago
maire_cate, yes it's different here in MN. I went through it a couple times. COBRA in MN only requires you be allowed to continue the *insurance* and NOT the *rates*. And you usually cannot change the policy provisions to try to get a cheaper version. Hence the caution I gave to check into it. Rules vary from state to state and that's why when I see these posts where people give advice from all over the globe I try to remind people that laws, rules and policies vary from place to place so you have to check things out for your locality or you can be in for a rude awakening.
juellie1962
14 years ago
I'm not sure how much longer you have till Medicare, but is it out of the question for hubby to work a little longer? I understand how someone would want to retire, but if it saves you a ton of money and a lot of peace of mind........
ladonna
14 years ago
Im 52 and on SS disability for the last 6 yrs. and I get medicare. It cost me around 96.00 a month.

Need advice and/or opinions about health ins.

Comments (13)

monica_pa Grieves

azzalea

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