Wish I could've come up with a better title. I'll become 64 in April. I do not yet take SS, and figure on doing so at, probably 66-67. Portfolio assets -w/ a Moderate allocation, no debt hovering around 2.1m, and expenses average up to 5k a month...often much less, and own my home- no mortgage.
So, I am a healthy self-employed freelance performer with enough for full retirement but continue to work as much as I 'want to' basically...One of the benefits of that has been qualifying for a performance union insurance plan for the past few years, which is pretty fantastic Anthem PPO coverage, but the union has upped the annual earnings eligibility requirements to the point that i will not requalify for continuation as of April. That plan's premium cost has been been around 2000 a year..even includes Dental & 'mental health.' Pretty phenomenal, and that's for a pretty low Deductible at that. My only other cost is for a 'concierge' primary care doctor's confiscation of about 1800 a year. I've gone along with that because I really like him. He says he would not bill me anything more than a 25.00 office visit if I was not insured, but anyway..the main question here is where to go when this great plan runs out, for major medical, specialist visits etc. I am very good about maintaining an exercise regimen, healthy habits, preventive health. The question becomes, what's my best move when this union insurance plan runs out effective in May.
COBRA would put me at around 800 a month last time I checked...a pretty massive increase given i've paid next to nothing for a few years. That said, as I understand it I'll be eligible for some form of government insurance options at age 65 or thereabouts (sorry - haven't even looked into the specifics of this whole realm so i may sound quite naive here). That means there'll be a 'window' where I will need to either go with the COBRA for awhile, or look at other more cost-efficient but sufficient coverage options. Mainly due to investment income, in the past couple of years at least - I have gone over the limit of eligibility to qualify for an ACA plan subsidy. I don't know if it's worth pursuing trying some creative loopholing to show enough of a reduced total income to be eligible for the subsidized ACA plan. It seems a major hassle. So other than that idea, what other options might be out there to consider if any...that would give me a reasonable major medical and basic care plan that would ideally be a lot less than COBRA-- and either way, how long would it be til I would be eligible for Medicare - and does that have anything to do with whether I'm on or off SS, IOW still working enough to where I 'can't' qualify for SS. Thanks for reading through all this and always appreciate the great insights here! I welcome any thoughts or questions! Mike
So, I am a healthy self-employed freelance performer with enough for full retirement but continue to work as much as I 'want to' basically...One of the benefits of that has been qualifying for a performance union insurance plan for the past few years, which is pretty fantastic Anthem PPO coverage, but the union has upped the annual earnings eligibility requirements to the point that i will not requalify for continuation as of April. That plan's premium cost has been been around 2000 a year..even includes Dental & 'mental health.' Pretty phenomenal, and that's for a pretty low Deductible at that. My only other cost is for a 'concierge' primary care doctor's confiscation of about 1800 a year. I've gone along with that because I really like him. He says he would not bill me anything more than a 25.00 office visit if I was not insured, but anyway..the main question here is where to go when this great plan runs out, for major medical, specialist visits etc. I am very good about maintaining an exercise regimen, healthy habits, preventive health. The question becomes, what's my best move when this union insurance plan runs out effective in May.
COBRA would put me at around 800 a month last time I checked...a pretty massive increase given i've paid next to nothing for a few years. That said, as I understand it I'll be eligible for some form of government insurance options at age 65 or thereabouts (sorry - haven't even looked into the specifics of this whole realm so i may sound quite naive here). That means there'll be a 'window' where I will need to either go with the COBRA for awhile, or look at other more cost-efficient but sufficient coverage options. Mainly due to investment income, in the past couple of years at least - I have gone over the limit of eligibility to qualify for an ACA plan subsidy. I don't know if it's worth pursuing trying some creative loopholing to show enough of a reduced total income to be eligible for the subsidized ACA plan. It seems a major hassle. So other than that idea, what other options might be out there to consider if any...that would give me a reasonable major medical and basic care plan that would ideally be a lot less than COBRA-- and either way, how long would it be til I would be eligible for Medicare - and does that have anything to do with whether I'm on or off SS, IOW still working enough to where I 'can't' qualify for SS. Thanks for reading through all this and always appreciate the great insights here! I welcome any thoughts or questions! Mike