I've figured out an alternative to getting health insurance coverage through an employer. Get it through your local University.
My local State university, North Carolina State University, has an optional group health plan for all enrolled students. The premiums are $1400/yr individual, $3600/yr husband and wife, and $5000/yr family. The plans are Blue Cross Blue Shield plans that have a $200 deductible and pay 80% of medical expenses. You must be a student to enroll in one of these plans. At NCSU, you could potentially sign up as an undergraduate and take one 3 credit hour course per semester ($542 per semester) for 20 years before you "graduated". They offer many online classes. Many evening classes, even some weekend classes.
If you have existing health conditions that make it hard for you to get reasonably priced health insurance, or you can't get it at all, this may be an option. Yea, you'd have that pesky class to worry about. I personally wouldn't mind learning a little more about some selected subjects I didn't have time for the first time around (more foreign languages, sociology, anthropology, economics, genetics, etc).
I haven't seen any snags in my plan. You may only have to take one class per year, since once you pay for the insurance in August, it runs till August the following year. Just wanted to pass this nugget of wisdom along. If you're 60-ish and trying to bridge the gap till medicare starts up, this may do the trick if you don't mind getting your proverbial learn on.
This plan also assumes you have access to a dirt cheap state university with a group health insurance plan.
Thoughts? Critiques?
My local State university, North Carolina State University, has an optional group health plan for all enrolled students. The premiums are $1400/yr individual, $3600/yr husband and wife, and $5000/yr family. The plans are Blue Cross Blue Shield plans that have a $200 deductible and pay 80% of medical expenses. You must be a student to enroll in one of these plans. At NCSU, you could potentially sign up as an undergraduate and take one 3 credit hour course per semester ($542 per semester) for 20 years before you "graduated". They offer many online classes. Many evening classes, even some weekend classes.
If you have existing health conditions that make it hard for you to get reasonably priced health insurance, or you can't get it at all, this may be an option. Yea, you'd have that pesky class to worry about. I personally wouldn't mind learning a little more about some selected subjects I didn't have time for the first time around (more foreign languages, sociology, anthropology, economics, genetics, etc).
I haven't seen any snags in my plan. You may only have to take one class per year, since once you pay for the insurance in August, it runs till August the following year. Just wanted to pass this nugget of wisdom along. If you're 60-ish and trying to bridge the gap till medicare starts up, this may do the trick if you don't mind getting your proverbial learn on.
This plan also assumes you have access to a dirt cheap state university with a group health insurance plan.
Thoughts? Critiques?