If your DH were to sell the business and you no longer had a health insurance plan available, wouldn't you be able to buy insurance as individuals through the government Marketplace? Not sure what plans are available in your state; I think the selection may be better here in California than it is some other states. We no longer have insurance through our business and now get an individual policy through Covered California (California's version of the Marketplace). Expensive, but the coverage is good.

I've been independently covered since 2006 with United Healthcare. Expensive with high deductible. This is health insurance in the US when you are past 50 unless you work for some big company that offers you insurance as part of your pay. Even then, the plans have been getting skimpier and skimpier, or at least that was my fiance's experience with his last company. He's on medicare now with a supplemental policy. The marketplace varies in offerings by state, so this is a MI and PA experience. It's an age thing.

Yes we can buy individual through the Minnesota marketplace. I'm not concerned that I can't get insurance, I'm more wondering about the price and the coverage and what kind of decisions others made. I did a little browsing on our MNSURE website and you can get decent coverage at a high price but out of network coverage is difficult and I do have one out of network provider. It's possible I'd need to see some out of network expert in the future and I guess I'd only do so if it were somewhat of a life or death situation. I'm unfortunately a regular consumer of healthcare so I think I'd need to plan to spend significant $ one way or the other during the pre-medicare years. Meeting with the financial planner soon so will discuss. Supposedly I have enough to retire but I need to see what she included previously for health insurance.

I bit the bullet and went with a private PPO plan. It was expensive and I gave up some other niceties to make it fit into my budget. If I were willing to go to an HMO plan, I could save a lot of money, but I haven't been willing to go that direction yet. I still have a few years before I'm eligible for Medicare so I expect to pay big bucks until then. Definitely use whatever COBRA you can assuming it is less than private insurance and it should be.

I had great health insurance through my employer, but retired at 60 so had to fill the gap after cobra, before I qualified for Medicare. I worked in a law office that specialized in legal help for seniors and we received many calls from seniors who could not find a doctor who would take new Medicare patients. It is a huge problem because Medicare reimbursements are so low, many docs don't want the hassle. So I joined a regional health cooperative (pretty reasonable premiums) because I believed that when my plan changed to Medicare coverage that they would keep me as a patient. It wouldn't have been my first choice because I've heard nightmare stories and there are some cost cutting/saving aspects that I don't like, but I have received really excellent care, and no problems switching to Medicare.

seniors who could not find a doctor who would take new Medicare patients.

Don't understand this at all. I'm in an area with lots of retirees and I've never heard of a single doctor who doesn't take medicare. Medicaid, no, never, but medicare, always.

As a matter of fact, what they won't take are the health savings plans for those who oppose medicare and who actually do walk the walk and refuse to use it. I was in the orthopedic surgeon's office a couple of years ago and a gentlemen with a name you see every day on many street corners came in and was denied, even though he offered to pay $5K cash up front before his first visit. The reply was a list of insurances they accept, including medicare.

My almost 65-yo sister moved to a new area and had to quickly establish herself as a patient in a practice, while on Cobra, because they did not accept new Medicare patients. As an established patient, they will keep her and newly acquired Medicare insurance.

Just be sure you mentally prepare yourself for the cost of COBRA coverage. It's very expensive.

You might do better skipping the COBRA and going directly to an individual plan.

Good luck.

You’re lucky if you live in an area where drs take new patients on Medicare. The docs around here seem to limit the percentage of their practice of Medicare patients (if they take them at all) and it can be very difficult to find a primary care physician taking new Medicare patients. Medicaid is even more difficult.

A lot of our doctors won't take new Medicare patients. Their practices are overflowing with private insurance patients, so they are able to limit the number of new patients they take.

Well around here many primary care physicians don't take ANY new patients regardless of how they pay. I've not heard of anyone having any worse problem because they are on Medicare. I managed to find a new PCP for DH when his retired but it was difficult being that I wanted someone who was educated in the US and spoke English as their first language. I love my internist but she's my age and I'm concerned about her retirement. I think I may switch to DH's doc while she's still taking new patients.

Anyway regarding insurance coverage. I got my Cobra rates from HR today and they are HALF the price of a comparable plan available in the MN marketplace. So I would by all means go that route and it at least reduces the average per year price.

It would be nice if I kept working until 18 months before Medicare but not sure that will happen - not willing to work 50-60 hours a week again and never be able to take vacation that doesn't turn into workation. Lots of great things going on at my company since a change in ownership including very interesting, challenging work for me but I'm just not into working all the time any more. Did that for many years and loved it but no longer. Friends have asked me for a few years when I plan to retire. I told them I had no plan but I'd know when it was time. I think the time is coming up soon.

Wow, interesting that your COBRA rates were half that of a marketplace plan. When I investigated this in 2013, COBRA was $300 per month more! Better coverage I guess . . . but not that much better. The only thing you will have to watch is I think you can't let your coverage lapse so when the COBRA runs out, have plan B in place or maybe by then you can do Medicare. Do investigate which doctors will accept that. And then get the best supplemental plan you can get. We got gazillions of calls from salespeople when my fiance was ready to go on Medicare, for the supplemental plans.

We are thankfully still with an employer plan. Glad that I checked the in on this thread though. I know my PCP will likely be retiring in the next few years, she is 61. I just thought I would wait for her to retire and change doctors, because I really like her. Good to know that it is a better idea to change doctor’s before I move to a Medicare plan. Not eligible for Medicare for a few years, but good to plan ahead as I expect this will even be worse of an issue moving forward. Like others our insurance cost is going up and the benefits are becoming less and less.

jill302 I'm in the same shoes as you. I retired early and have several years to medicare. Thankfully, I have a company plan that covers the two us us till I go on medicare (my husband will go a year earlier). We can then get a supplemental policy through my company if that is what we choose. We are so blessed to have good insurance at a very good price. My sister would consider retirement (her husband already has) but is not quite willing (yet LOL) to pay $1500/mo for their insurance. I think my BIL has 3 more years before he is eligible for medicare. Maybe she'll wait till then (she is 56).

We need a new internist. Ours moved and we've been using a clinic near us for must haves but really need a new dr. and yes, someone younger. I had to do this with my gyno. I loved her and she was just a few years older than me - which was great! She could advise me on what was to come. Thankfully, while she was on her own, she shared an office suite with a younger dr. who was willing to pick up some of her patients.

"Nicola Abraham" has been a recent spammer. Watch out for the spam.

I've been paying for a private, individual plan since my husband retired ten years ago. It's very expensive. Think $1200/month. And yes, that's with a high deductible. However, once you get past the sticker shock, there's one helpful thing to note that came about with Obama care. And that is that a lot more preventative healthcare is covered upfront. Meaning you don't have to meet a deductible to use it. So, in my case, I can get my well-woman visit, my mammogram, my colonoscopy -none of that comes out of my deductible. To simplify it for you, marketplace plans are described as Silver, Gold and Bronze, which makes it a bit easier to compare one to another. I found an insurance agent a few years ago who was very quickly able to help me wade through the few options in my area. In addition, she knows how her customers feel about particular insurances. So, for example, Ambetter was a newcomer to our area, and she steered me away from them, based on feedback she was getting. I found her originally from NextDoor, so you might look there for a similar agent in your area.

I tell you I am targeted by the spammers. @bestyears - I’m on the final stretch of individual insurance before Medicare. About $1300 per month for the two of us - $1400 per person deductible then 20% copay up to $7000 pp out of pocket max - somewhat limited local network that includes top local hospitals and providers. However I’m in MN and Mayo is out of network. Medicare and supplement about the same price but no network limitations and minimal deductible/copay.