One night to make decision

[planning2fire]

Thanks everyone, I decided to take the position and keep my insurance. There is a lot more due diligence required on my part. I did not realize that prior to initiating this thread. Thanks again for all you help!

 

[REWahoo]

Thanks everyone, I decided to take the position and keep my insurance.

Congratulations on a wise choice and thanks for letting us know which way you decided to go.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Thanks everyone, I decided to take the position and keep my insurance.!

Whew! Congratulations.

 

[LOL!]

Also, maybe the other guy wanted to retire now anyways and just needed something to push him over the edge.

 

[Cattusbabe]

Hope all goes well with you. Drop by every now and then to let us know how your doing.

 

[Gumby]

This thread is just another thing I love about the people who frequent this place. Thanks to all who pitched in.

 

[haha]

But most states limit HIPAA coverage to 18 months -- that's the real issue. What would you do thereafter until you reached age 65? HIPAA is 'stop gap" coverage at best.

In Washington if you have been covered by a group plan for some period of time that I cannot remember, and have exhausted your Cobra benefits, HIPPA decrees that you can buy individual insurance without needing to answer the health questionnaire. You can keep this for as long as you pay the premiums, until you are Medicare eligible.

I think something similar to this is likely what OP is describing.

Ha

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

In Washington if you have been covered by a group plan for some period of time that I cannot remember, and have exhausted your Cobra benefits, HIPPA decrees that you can buy individual insurance without needing to answer the health questionnaire. You can keep this for as long as you pay the premiums, until you are Medicare eligible.

That's a new one to me, Ha. Got a link? I'd like to learn more.

 

[planning2fire]

Rich, I agree with HA. This is the information I also found when researching this topic earlier. I previously got into trouble posting a link but if you google "California hipaa health plans" you will find a lot of vendors. Open a page and you can view the requirements as well as monthly rates. The rates for a 50 year old in LA county is between $650 and $700.

 

[harley]

This is very odd. When I was still w*rking in network security I attended a conference. One of the seminars was on HIPAA, and ne'er a word was spoken about HIPAA health plans and portability, although that word is in the title. It was all about privacy and accountability. I'm going to have to google for a while and see what's going on.

 

[NW-Bound]

I agree with the majority here. You need to stay employed, due to your medical condition. This will buy you some time, and you can still retire early later if you get tired of work. Your 64 yr. old colleague will be taken care of by Medicare, and if you have saved him in the past, you should not feel bad.

Best wishes to you.

 

[harley]

Here's what I've found so far, on the last faq entry on this site - Frequently Asked Questions about Portability of Health Coverage and HIPAA.


How does HIPAA apply when changing from group health coverage to an individual insurance policy?
HIPAA also protects those who are otherwise unable to get group health insurance.

The law guarantees access to individual insurance policies and state high-risk pools for eligible individuals. They must meet all of the following criteria:

• Had coverage for at least 18 months, most recently in a group health plan, without a significant break;
• Lost group coverage but not because of fraud or nonpayment of premiums;
• Are not eligible for COBRA coverage; or if COBRA coverage was offered under Federal or state law, elected and exhausted it; and
• Are not eligible for coverage under another group health plan, Medicare, or Medicaid; or have any other health insurance coverage.

The opportunity to buy an individual policy is the same whether a person quits a job, was fired, or was laid off.

I haven't heard of the law being used this way. I'm a little dubious by the use of the word eligible all through the law. I'll be doing more reading. If anybody else has more real world info about this I'd be interested in hearing it.

 

[Grep]

This is a decision of huge importance and you need time to do some serious research on health coverage in your state. No way would I be willing take any chance of losing coverage with the medical condition you describe. You can easily paint yourself into a corner and not realize it until it is too late.

Unless you can get your employer to delay the deadline on your decision to allow you to thoroughly research your health insurance options, stay employed.

I cannot constrain myself long enough to read the rest of the posts. DO NOT RUSH THIS DECISION! How many other people do you see rushing to take early retirement right now? Very, very, very few! If you are being rushed, then you are almost definitely on the losing end of this, quite perhaps without even knowing it! That's a risk you should not take.

You must take your time, and if "taking your time" means years, then so be it!

 

[haha]

I haven't heard of the law being used this way. I'm a little dubious by the use of the word eligible all through the law. I'll be doing more reading. If anybody else has more real world info about this I'd be interested in hearing it.

You can't really get any more real world than this-I did it, just as Planning to Fire detailed. This is a first person report. It either happened or old Ha is a damn liar.

As far as links are concerned, after I signed the contract I deleted whatever links or research I had done.

I have posted about this many times before- in fact almost every time this question has arisen.

It may no longer be possible, it almost certainly would vary from state to state, one may have to have nice eyes- I really don't know.

But I did it just this way, in the great state of Washington, about 4 years ago.

Ha

 

[planning2fire]

Ha, I am so glad to read your recent post.

My late night research indicated I could obtain health coverage until 65. I am planning on relocating to Florida after leaving Mega corp which added another level of uncertainty. As indicated prior, I decided to take the job which allows for more $ cushion and time to plan.

I was able to convince our HR group to increase my friends severance and call it an early retirement which gave them more options to make a better deal. Unfortunately, the team is on their way to break the news to him this morning. I am going to meet with him tomorrow so he can brief me on the status of his projects.

On good thing to come out of this very stressful week is I started to participate with this great group of people who have either reached ER or striving to get there. I guess I will go back as my name indicates and continue to plan to fire. I hope to participate more as time allows.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Interesting. I wonder which individual policies the subscriber is allowed to choose from - is/can the state force a carrier to insure a high risk individual just because he/she has burned through COBRA insurance?

 

[tryan]

Personaly I'ld keep the day job until your diagnosis is pinned down. Our healthcare has increased 50% in 4 years without a life-long illness. Can't imagine what they'll do to you coming in with one.

 

[REWahoo]

I'ts a damn shame the Georgetown University site is no longer available. Their detailed reports on the health insurance policies in each state would have been very helpful in answering all the questions on this thread.

When it comes to pre-existing conditions and individual health insurance, your options are very limited and entirely dependent on your state of residence. After my COBRA expired the only option we had to get DW covered without numerous exclusions was the state high risk pool at rates 2X what I pay for similar coverage on the open market. This quote from Martha in our FAQ section tells the story very well:

COBRA only provides short term coverage, you will need to buy private health insurance on the individual market before COBRA benefits expire. What are your rights to a policy? Can insurers turn you down? Can they exclude preexisting conditions? Can they charge you more if you are not healthy or as you get older? What kind of underwriting do insurance companies do? Will they care that you had a hernia operation last year? Will they care that you take meds for high blood pressure or cholesterol? Can the insurance company cancel your policy later or increase your rates if you get sick? What if you move to a new state, is your policy portable? A number of these questions are addressed in the linked discussions.

If you are young and healthy you may be able to find a good policy at a reasonable cost. If you have health problems, HIPAA provides you with some protections. Your state may provide you with other protections. Unfortunately, there is no federal law which regulates the price of private insurance, so the cost of a policy may be quite high depending on your health, age and what state you live in.

All but five states (NJ NY VT ME MA) allow insurance companies to deny you individual insurance or charge you more for insurance if you are not healthy. If you are uninsurable, you may nevertheless have the right to buy insurance because of HIPAA. HIPAA requires states to provide one or more insurance policies to certain qualified individuals, without a waiting period. If you are HIPAA eligible there will be an insurance product for you to buy. It may be one or more policies offered by individual insurance companies, it may be through a risk pool, or it may be a conversion policy. A big problem though is cost. Federal law doesn't regulate cost and states are all over the board with what they do regarding cost.

To qualify under HIPAA, an individual must have had 18 months of continuous coverage (without a 63 day break), the most recent coverage must be through a group health plan, the individual must not be eligible for group coverage, Medicare or Medicaid and COBRA benefits must be exhausted. Here are the eligibility rules in detail: http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...tml#post556826

States vary as to the quality of their HIPAA plans. Some have low lifetime limits, some do not cover prescription drugs, and some have limits on how much the policy will pay for a particular condition.

 

[haha]

I'ts a damn shame the Georgetown University site is no longer available. Their detailed reports on the health insurance policies in each state would have been very helpful in answering all the questions on this thread.

When it comes to pre-existing conditions and individual health insurance, your options are very limited and entirely dependent on your state of residence. After my COBRA expired the only option we had to get DW covered without numerous exclusions was the state high risk pool at rates 2X what I pay for similar coverage on the open market. This quote from Martha in our FAQ section tells the story very well:

To the best of my memory, in this state there is no such thing as a HIPPA policy. There are HIPPA eligible individuals, and those who are not HIPPA eligible.

HIPPA eligible individuals do not fill out the health questionnaire or undergo underwriting. Those who want an individual policy who are not HIPPA eligible do fill out the questionnaire, and may be forced into a high risk pool depending on the scoring of their questionnaires.

If you are HIPPA eligible the company issuing your policy would have no way to differentiate you from anyone else HIPPA eligible. You could be perfectly healthy, you could have advanced AIDS. These are not special or high risk or rated policies.

Ha

 

[FIRE'd@51]

To the best of my memory, in this state there is no such thing as a HIPPA policy. There are HIPPA eligible individuals, and those who are not HIPPA eligible.

This is the way I understand it as well, and I believe it is true in all states. As you say, there is no such thing as a HIPAA policy; rather it is a policy made available to HIPAA-eligible individuals. The individual states regulate policies sold to HIPAA-eligible individuals in different ways. In my state, a HIPAA-eligible individual is guaranteed a policy without underwriting or waiting periods for pre-existing conditions, BUT he can be charged more for that policy than a "healthy" person (HIPAA or otherwise) who goes through underwriting for the same policy. It follows that a "healthy" HIPAA-eligible person will first try to go to through underwriting, and if that fails, be offered the same policy at a much higher premium as a HIPAA-eligible individual.

If you are HIPPA eligible the company issuing your policy would have no way to differentiate you from anyone else HIPPA eligible. You could be perfectly healthy, you could have advanced AIDS. These are not special or high risk or rated policies.

This may be a difference between your state and mine. Are you saying that in WA, a HIPAA-eligible individual, would pay the same rate as a non-HIPAA eligible individual who is healthy and goes through underwriting?

 

[haha]

This may be a difference between your state and mine. Are you saying that in WA, a HIPAA-eligible individual, would pay the same rate as a non-HIPAA eligible individual who is healthy and goes through underwriting?

As of 4 years ago when I researched this and bought my individual policy, that was exactly correct.

I don't see what is so odd about this. After all, some states require that individual policies insure every applicant without any rating. I believe New Jersey is in this group.

States are different, thank heavens. The insurance companies spend a lot of money trying to get that torn down, since it is easier and cheaper for them to buy the US Congress than to buy 50 separate state insurance departments and legislatures.

Ha

 

[A854321]

As others have said, your diagnosis of CLL makes the decision for you. I certainly don't like the way you were made privy to the other human resources issue for the other fellow, and made party to his termination.

I would watch out for this company. Get all you can get from them. If they did it with him, you may be next.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quick question. Does your friend know that you essentially decided that he was going the be laid off by the company? If so, your friendship may be over.

 

[haha]

Quick question. Does your friend know that you essentially decided that he was going the be laid off by the company? If so, your friendship may be over.

To me that would be an extreme reaction. How many of us expect a friend to take a bullet for us?

Ha

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

To me that would be an extreme reaction. How many of us expect a friend to take a bullet for us?

Ha

Perhaps, but there's no need to tell him, right?