I'm freaking out over health insurance

[smjsl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian S Guess I'm a little surprised at the passivity I see in this thread. If you have concerns about what might be happening to the ACA, then let your elected representatives know about it. If enough folks do that, then the ACA might just get fixed in a way that will benefit us all.

+1

Folks in this forum have more time than those working to do this sort of thing.

P.S. And... you don't have to contact just reps in YOUR district. You could contact any and every rep in the country.

[Steve40th]

Does Medicare cover everything, or do you need part B? And, is it available as you start collecting SS, or are two separate entity's.

[AllDone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve40th Does Medicare cover everything, or do you need part B? And, is it available as you start collecting SS, or are two separate entity's.

Part B covers outpatient care; doctors, PT, etc. Part A covers hospitalization. Part D covers prescription drugs. Part C covers Medicare Advantage plans.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllDone Part B covers outpatient care; doctors, PT, etc. Part A covers hospitalization. Part D covers prescription drugs. Part C covers Medicare Advantage plans.

And a private supplement plan covers much of the 20% Part B doesn't cover.

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smjsl +1 Folks in this forum have more time than those working to do this sort of thing. P.S. And... you don't have to contact just reps in YOUR district. You could contact any and every rep in the country.

Not sure about the Senate, but House members don't seem to want to hear from people living outside the district (unless they are donors). The contact pages within House members' websites block people who enter zip codes from outside the district. It doesn't stop anyone from sending snail mail or calling, but not being able to use the contact page does tell me something.

I have written my House member and both senators with my views on health care. Going back 20 years, I have written my representatives at all levels often. Sometimes, I get replies, sometimes I don't. Sometimes, I get form-letter types of replies which I find annoying.

The state and local-level folks are bit more responsive, which I guess isn't too surprising.

[ceciledian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetireAge50 I'll admit I might be naive or confused about healthcare. So far in my life I have spent near zero on health or health insurance. It has always been paid for by my employer. I know by retiring early this cost will be shifted to me. It is not my expectation the cost will be covered by someone else or the government. If I develop health issues I know I will either need to use my saved money or return to work. Even Starbucks pays full benefits. I do not find it useful to worry or freak out about something that may never happen. Currently the market price for good health insurance in WA state for my family of 3 is about 800/mo. Seems reasonable to me. If and when something changes I'll deal with it then.

If you are under 50 you will find affordable plans. The older you get the more expensive the premiums, possibly to the point of it being financially untenable (this year's annual premium for the two of us is $17,000 (no subsidy), with a $6300 deductible each). If lack of good independent options require us to return to the work place just for insurance, that's my freak. Our savings could sustain significant medical expense to carry us through the next 7 years to Medicare. Whatever extra we need to spend on medical will need to offset the travel/fun budget.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrabbler1 Not sure about the Senate, but House members don't seem to want to hear from people living outside the district (unless they are donors)........

My experience, too. If you do talk to a real person they make sure you are actually in the district and if they get the drift that you didn't vote for the congressman, they practically sneer.

[jollystomper]

Assuming they do not push back the medicare eligibility age, I will be eligible in 2023 and DW will be eligible in 2022. It is the one thing that is keeping me from being 100% ready to retire (at least I am more in OMM mode than OMY mode. ).

The only thing I can control is how much I put away for health costs, so that is what our current savings is mainly being put away for. That is one reason we have a lot in cash right now.

The way I figure it, I'll have 18 months on COBRA at a "reasonable" cost, then 2 years when I can subsidize premiums with money Megacorp provides at retirement to make it "reasonable". That leaves maybe 2 years that might be bad... but by that time we'll be SS eligible and if SS covers most/all of the health care costs that will be a factor in us taking it early.

[NYEXPAT]

Where I live that would cover your rent,HI (no deductible plan)and you do not need a vacation budget , because your already there! I am eligible for medicare in 2 years and will probably come back then for a few years.

[AllDone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrabbler1 I have written my House member and both senators with my views on health care. Going back 20 years, I have written my representatives at all levels often. Sometimes, I get replies, sometimes I don't. Sometimes, I get form-letter types of replies which I find annoying. The state and local-level folks are bit more responsive, which I guess isn't too surprising.

I called my Rep and was referred to his "healthcare specialist". She didn't understand how insurance works, how the healthcare system works (no, you can't get chemo in the ER), or how tax deductions work. I was actually pretty shaken by the discussion as these are the people who are making the decisions, which really are life and death decisions, for us. My Rep is supposedly the wealthiest man in Congress and he really doesn't need to have health insurance, so why should he care?

[street]

We have 5 & 6 year left to be eligible for Medicare. I guess for us I budgeted to worse case scenario for HCI. We would be able to pay for it but I hope we don't have to pay to high cost of insurance till we reach 65.

Everyone wants a deal and to get HCI as a reasonable cost. I would never go back to full/part-time job to get HI paid for. I don't want a job that I would have to answer to on a daily bases anymore.

[Lisa99]

We have an ACA silver plan that is virtually worthless. NV ranks 48 in quality of care to begin with and now that I have a badly herniated disc I can't find a competent doctor who accepts our insurance.

We're looking at moving to another state to get more options and better care.

Florida is high on the list based on research so far.

[GTFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bir48die So I'm always a bit confused with some of these subjects and comments. We all knew the ACA was poorly written when it was "passed". If you read up on it you could see all of the failings of the program. I love the idea of a single payer program but as we all know you have to be 65 to enjoy that benefit. The two things I see on this forum in relation to the ACA is: 1) Those who "game" the system by pulling out of taxable accounts to lower their premiums and get subsidy's. In many cases this is done even when they have adequate assets to fully fund health care. So in essence you are misrepresenting your financial situation to get cheap health care. This of course is one of the major loopholes in this program.

So if we're 'misrepresenting' by simply complying with current tax law, how would this 'loophole' be closed? Assets are not reported to the IRS.

Means-based testing for subsidies was considered and rejected in the negotiations for the ACA. This wasn't an unknown side effect.

[hesperus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bir48die I love the idea of a single payer program but as we all know you have to be 65 to enjoy that benefit.

Write your congress person and request that medicare be available at 55

[Dreaming of Freedom]

Being able to opt into Medicare early, even at $1,000 per person per month, would be better than some of the awful ACA plans that have tiny networks, and absolutely no out of network coverage. Unfortunately, these are the only plans available in many areas of the country. What is the point of paying $10,000/year/person for health insurance if it does not cover anything at all? The great thing about Medicare is the network covers the entire US, not just 50 square miles of some small metro area that doesn't even have certain specialists.

[redshift]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EastWest Gal There's a Whole Foods on the big island in Hawaii, I wonder if they're hiring?[emoji16]

I wish there was! Only on Oahu and Maui at this point. We live on the Big Island part of the year.

[cbo111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry People are coming out in droves to let their representatives know. Why do you think so many of them are refusing to have town hall meetings?

Yes, we all need to contact our elected reps to let our expectations known. This is not a conservative or liberal issue. Health care is fundamental! You jam up your congressman's tele lines and the message gets through. Unless you are lobbyist, this is the only way to communicate.

[Winemaker]

Like I said in another thread, we need to make health care like a vacation plan. First class cabin, business class, coach, Greyhound. Ritz-Carlton, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Motel 6, park bench. Concierge, guided tour, audio hand set, pamphlet. Prime time, seasonal, etc. There are so many choices until there is none. Most people don't plan for health care, retirement, until it's too late or taken away by an employer.

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Freedom The great thing about Medicare is the network covers the entire US, not just 50 square miles of some small metro area that doesn't even have certain specialists.

Is Medicare really all that great? Recall reading an article that stated 20% of doctors are refusing to accept new Medicare patients and it's only expected to get worse with all the 'baby boomers' joining the Medicare ranks.

[Dreaming of Freedom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinger1457 Is Medicare really all that great? Recall reading an article that stated 20% of doctors are refusing to accept new Medicare patients and it's only expected to get worse with all the 'baby boomers' joining the Medicare ranks.

I don't understand how doctors can turn away 60% of their clientele and still get by. Isn't Gen X like half the size of the boomer generation, and we won't need the doctors as much as the boomers do (until we get old ourselves).