Retiring - So much unknown

[littleb]

We were planning to retire this year or early next year but are now questioning the steps we need to take since there are many questions about the financial stability of the ACA and future healthcare. We are living in a State where the death spiral has begun.

Currently we are covered under the ACA with no subsidies for this year or next year. Our health insurance premium for 2017 is 1,757.00 per month. However, we hoped to get in one good year of lower income to receive some subsidies but if the repeal of ACA is the future we might be required to pay higher premiums for years.

DH was planning to receive SS next year at age 62 but this might not be the best course in case he will need to go back to work so we can get affordable health insurance.

With all this unknown we are wondering if withdrawing money from IRA's would make more sense than receiving early SS since that would enable us to control our income for tax purposes. Currently 25% of our assets are in IRA's in his name that would need to be withdrawn before RMD's come into play. We already planned for IRA conversions to ROTH if necessary.

I feel like we are playing a chess game.

 

[2017ish]

Chess? Multidimensional Calvin-Ball, with instructions in sanskrit.

At least your DH only has a few years to medicare--are you close to him in age?

Can you move states/countries if need be? Can you pay just about any premium/OOP if some insurance is available?

We will be exiting next year at 57/56 and are in a similar situation. My estimation was 1) ACA changes were coming no matter the election outcome--it was/is not going to work as it presently exists; 2) any changes will be less disruptive to you (and us) than we fear; and 3) we can always move.

 

[wmc1000]

I almost believe it is more of a shell game than a chess game!

Anyway, if your DH does start his SS at 62 in 2017 and later in the year if the decision is to go back to work he can take advantage of the one time do-over and pay back whatever he has received to date until a later time.

This has to be done within the 1st year and then he will get the higher SS due when he goes back on SS.

 

[littleb]

We will be ages 62/57 next year. The 1700 premium we will be paying for 2017 is the lowest premium available which has a 6500.00 deductible per person before insurance pays at 50%. There are only 4 plans available to us through the ACA and premiums range from 1757 to 3258 per month. Individual plans are no longer offered by BCBS in our area and other insurance carriers have left this area.

We could move to follow the health insurance until changes occur yearly which may affect our premiums. We are currently living in a LCOL state with no income tax which is a huge reason to reside in our state. Even the cost of houses, property taxes and homeowners insurance are low here.

Maybe moving to another country is an option but too many factors to weigh out.

 

[2017ish]

littleb, from your profile, we are in the same state, and possibly in the same metro area. The BCBS move was big.

Whatever you do, don't let your maintenance of health insurance lapse. The two most likely plans in the new congress (From Speaker Ryan and Sen. Hatch) would maintain protection for pre-existing conditions as long as there is no lapse between policies--even when changing from one insurer to another. They do open up the age bands from 3-1 to 5-1, which likely would lead to higher costs for a comparable amount of coverage for early retirees. (Wouldn't increase by as much as the band increase, cuz the cost for 20-somethings would likely go down, or increase less, as a result.)

Good luck with juggling this.

 

[littleb]

littleb, from your profile, we are in the same state, and possibly in the same metro area. The BCBS move was big.

Whatever you do, don't let your maintenance of health insurance lapse. The two most likely plans in the new congress (From Speaker Ryan and Sen. Hatch) would maintain protection for pre-existing conditions as long as there is no lapse between policies--even when changing from one insurer to another. They do open up the age bands from 3-1 to 5-1, which likely would lead to higher costs for a comparable amount of coverage for early retirees. (Wouldn't increase by as much as the band increase, cuz the cost for 20-somethings would likely go down, or increase less, as a result.)

Good luck with juggling this.

Yes, the BCBS move out of the major cities was a huge loss to so many people who live here. There is no way I would let my insurance lapse or have a period of no coverage. Many people I know have made the statement of self insuring for health insurance but they are usually blowing off steam.

Like many, I am waiting for the new administration to announce and make the necessary changes to the health insurance industry.

 

[MichaelB]

Like many, I am waiting for the new administration to announce and make the necessary changes to the health insurance industry.

It may be a long wait. Many of us are in this same boat.

In the meantime, it is fair to discuss what we can and should do as individuals , but let's please avoid politicians, their agendas, and speculation.

 

[broadway]

All these posts about health care cost had me actually looking over my claims of this year and last.

Last year was my first colonoscopy.
I realized today that I needlessly paid $97.92 adjusted for Tissue Exam by Pathologist because I did not question the bill when I first received it. It turns out that it should have been coded as preventative. Two others of the same were coded properly and were of no cost to me. ARGH.

I tried to contact their billing office, but it being Friday afternoon, no one is answering phones.

 

[W2R]

There is no way I would let my insurance lapse or have a period of no coverage.

Whew, I'm glad. I notice that you and your spouse are only 57/62 years old. Something that many of us have unfortunately found out first hand, is that as we progress through our sixties and beyond, our health care needs increase dramatically.

 

[Walt34]

Something that many of us have unfortunately found out first hand, is that as we progress through our sixties and beyond, our health care needs increase dramatically.

So true! This is a guy who hadn't spent the night in a hospital since 1950, then a bit over two years ago the trouble started. Three nights in a hospital then, about 7 emergency room trips, one resulting in admission (released the next day) then a two-night stay in Virginia, followed by another two-night stay at a different Virginia hospital. So glad I have good insurance!

 

[DrRoy]

Chess? Multidimensional Calvin-Ball, with instructions in sanskrit.

This was my laugh of the day. I wonder how many people there are who know what Calvin-Ball is. Hobbes rules!

 

[Another Reader]

Whew, I'm glad. I notice that you and your spouse are only 57/62 years old. Something that many of us have unfortunately found out first hand, is that as we progress through our sixties and beyond, our health care needs increase dramatically.

Yep. Getting that first hand experience now.

 

[bclover]

This was my laugh of the day. I wonder how many people there are who know what Calvin-Ball is. Hobbes rules!

[emoji1] My dogs name is Hobbes

 

[socca]

Today I applied for short-term health insurance (11 months - longest available) from National General:

National General Short-Term Health Insurance

(United Healthcare is another major insurance company offering these plans).

Features:
• $5,000 deductible
• 70/30 coinsurance; max annual OOP = $7,600
• Aetna POS network
• no referral required to see a specialist
• premium = $199 / mo = $2,388 / yr (a savings of over $3,000 / yr compared to the cheapest ACA Bronze plan in my zip code)

Limitations:
• not ACA-compliant; may have to pay Obamacare penalty in 2017 (if I do, I will still save over $1,000 / yr as compared to the ACA plan)
• no preventive care
• max plan payout = $1M (this is fine - I can self-insure for anything over $1M)
• subject to medical underwriting (currently in process); pre-existing conditions will be excluded (ok with me - I'm healthy)

According to the link below, the Feds have declared war on short-term plans because they want to keep as many 'good risks' inside the ACA medical risk pool in order to hold down premiums. How is that working, anyway? For 2017, the ACA is delivering unaffordable premiums to me according to its own definition of 'affordable', so I have every right to seek solutions outside the ACA.

Feds Cap Short-Term Health Insurance Duration at 3 Months

The short-term insurance will be an interesting experiment. By the time November 2017 rolls around, we may have a new (but not necessarily better) healthcare insurance playground to run around in.

 

[NW-Bound]

The above sounds good to me. It is similar to what we had pre-ACA. We paid more than $199, had a higher deductible, but it was a PPO plan. No underwriting, but preexisting conditions still not covered. The max payout of $1M should be fine, because I don't know what illness costs that much to treat in 11 months.

What are you going to do for that 1-month gap?

 

[socca]

What are you going to do for that 1-month gap?

I will purchase a one-month policy for December 2017 (if needed). If the healthcare insurance ecosystem has changed radically by then, I may not need to do this. The agent said that Florida allows unlimited rollovers of short-term plans; other states may not be so friendly.

When I reviewed the short-term plan details this week, I had a real sense of deja-vu: these plans are much like what was available when I first starting purchasing private insurance back in 2007. I was surprised that these pre-ACA risk pools and associated policies still exist - I thought that the ACA had killed them all. I don't have any dependents, so I can afford to 'think outside the box' and give the short-term insurance approach a try.

 

[NW-Bound]

OK. So, do you have to move from one insurer to another, and it's OK to do so?

If you can just renew the policy, then the law they pass is simply toothless. I do not understand.

PS. Just saw your statement about Florida allowing rollovers.

 

[socca]

OK. So, do you have to move from one insurer to another, and it's OK to do so?

The United Healthcare quote was competitive with the National General quote, so I can always purchase a one-month policy from UNH for December 2017 if there is a problem with continuing to use NG late next year. With the healthcare insurance system in flux (some would say chaos), I'm not worried about it.

 

[NW-Bound]

Ah, let's say you develop some health problems, then when your short-term policy expires, of course you would not want to get another short-term policy that excludes that existing condition. So, you would have to go to an ACA plan (if the current law stays).

So, ACA plans eventually collect all the insureds that are sick, hence the premium goes sky high.

 

[socca]

So, ACA plans eventually collect all the insureds that are sick, hence the premium goes sky high.

The personal health questionnaire for medical underwriting was a bit less demanding than in the pre-ACA days. For example, instead of asking for my height and weight, the agent merely asked if I weigh more than 300 lbs (hell no - half that). There were large numbers of obese folks at my favorite all-you-can-eat buffet lunch spot yesterday, so maybe this isn't an unreasonable question. The ACA medical risk pool may be attracting the sick people, so the folks seeking to enter the non-ACA medical risk pool may be relatively healthy as compared to the pre-ACA days. We definitely live in interesting times.