.. continuing my thoughts as I come close to ER.
If you are interested, you can see my earlier post here
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...-go-34517.html
Days to go: 25
State of Mind today: Relaxed.
Healthcare
For ERs, healthcare expenses are probably the biggest concern. I have 17 years to go till I qualify for Medicare and wife has 20, so health care costs are a HUGE concern. We have no employer sponsored retirement healthcare waiting for us.
New Jersey is a "community rating" state, so while we are assured of getting insurance with no discrimination due to age, sex or health, the rates are high.
A high deductible HMO plan with unlimited lifetime benefits costs $319/mo per person. For some reason, it is less expensive to get two individual plans! The plan is an HMO with a deductible ($2500) and co-insurance (50%). Maximum annual out of pocket of $5000 and copay for primary physician is $40. In essence this is a "catastrophic" plan to keep us from going broke if we get seriously ill.
There is a
new initiative in NJ sponsored by State Senator Vitale to make coverage universal. According to their 'white paper', they believe premiums could drop 75%. I'm not holding my breath.
We are eligible for continuing coverage throught COBRA for the next 18 months, and are waiting to see what it will cost us before we make a decision.
Luckily, we are healthy today, so hope to keep our out of pocket expenses manageable in the near future. Fingers crossed, knock on wood.
Linear Mode
