Your Health Care Costs -

[Winemaker]

Yippee! Just got letter Saturday, starting in June, premium goes from $1823/month for the both of us, to $1766/month. No changes in coverage, just different consortium of pool.

[6miths]

Very interesting thread to read. It gives me sympathetic anxiety reading all of the stories! Makes me thankful to live where I do.

[HaveEnough]

Don't think I saw anything about health cost sharing plans. There are more that are starting and may be a good choice for some. Most are religious based. We use CHM, about $330 a month for 56/51 year old including the Brother's Keeper option which pays expenses over $200K a year.

[NoMoreJob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker Yippee! Just got letter Saturday, starting in June, premium goes from $1823/month for the both of us, to $1766/month. No changes in coverage, just different consortium of pool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6miths Very interesting thread to read. It gives me sympathetic anxiety reading all of the stories! Makes me thankful to live where I do.

We have many Canadian friends and from discussing the subject with them it seems to me that Canada has its own set of healthcare problems. Canadians seem to be pretty laid back about such things though.

[travelover]

I just got a premium increase for my Medicare supplement F High Deductible. It is up 10% or about a dollar a week.

[Doribe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jj I'm guessing there's a subsidy for that BCBS HI...? My Bronze HSA policy with no subsidy is similar to yours, age 59.

Yes, about 50 percent is covered by previous employer.

[bw5972]

I have subsidized retiree benefit from Megacorp. Basically I get the same coverage options as current employees until age 65 (I am 59 now, retired at 56 with 32 years of service)

I pay $328 a month.

[6miths]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoMoreJob We have many Canadian friends and from discussing the subject with them it seems to me that Canada has its own set of healthcare problems. Canadians seem to be pretty laid back about such things though.

No system is perfect but the majority of Canadians are very satisfied and intensely proud of their healthcare.

My best friend's 85 year-old father had a heart attack on Thursday night in a relatively small place. Vital signs absent. Was in the cath lab 50 km away within an hour and has been in a top flight cardiac intensive care unit over the weekend. Initially, paced, sedated, intubated and on a cooling protocol. We will see how he does and honestly, at that age I am not sure if I would have wanted all that done if it were me but it won't cost him or his family anything above what he has paid into the system over the years. Same as his two artificial knees. They have nothing other than the provincial health care plan that we all have.

There is comfort that comes with not having to worry about whether one (and one's family) is covered or not. It seems like a huge amount of time is spent by individuals trying to figure out this plan or that or whether this plan or that will even be in existence next week. And having healthcare tied to employment certainly seems to impact retirement planning and must impact job mobility.

[brett]

The overall satisfaction numbers on Canadian healthcare have been steady for years. Every poll indicated an 80 percent plus satisfaction overall with the system. There are of course challenges, as there are in any health care environment. This means that gov'ts who attempt to play politics with medicare, attempt to add user fees, or other untoward actions live in fear of retribution on the next voting day.

Every few years a media organization does a survey asking people about their most favourite, famous, or admired Canadian of all times. There are two constants about this over the years. One of the top picks is always Baptist Evangelical preacher turned politician, Tommy Douglas. He is credited as being the 'father of medicare' in Canada. Usually followed in the survey by a hockey player or two.

[jim584672]

Some of you are spending more on healthcare than I spend on everything for a whole year.

[NoMoreJob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim584672 Some of you are spending more on healthcare than I spend on everything for a whole year.

Hopefully it remains that way for you for a long time to come.

[GTFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bw5972 I have subsidized retiree benefit from Megacorp. Basically I get the same coverage options as current employees until age 65 (I am 59 now, retired at 56 with 32 years of service) I pay $328 a month.

If I didn't have ACA my other option is unsubsidized Mega retiree coverage at $1100/mo. for two. And that's for a Bronze plan.

With ACA and keeping income below 200% FPL, it's $68/mo. with very low OOP for a CSR Silver plan.

Kind of a no-brainer for us, we don't need a lot of income in a low COL area with everything paid for.

[Teacher Terry]

Just had lunch with a friend of mine with both on Medicare and supplements and not even paying half what we do. Can’t wait 5 years for DH to be 65.

[NoMoreJob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry Just had lunch with a friend of mine with both on Medicare and supplements and not even paying half what we do. Can’t wait 5 years for DH to be 65.

Yes, and the most likely the coverage and network is MUCH better as well as the cost being considerably lower. DW is still on ACA and we're holding our breath until she goes on Medicare. I was diagnosed with cancer within a month after going on Medicare and now have a greater than 90% chance of being completely cured. Had I been on my old ACA policy my options for doctors and treatment would both have been greatly reduced. With Medicare I ended up receiving some of the best care available in the country for my type of cancer. I worry every day that my wife will be diagnosed with a serious condition while still on an ACA policy.

As an aside I chose a plan G supplement partially due to 'excess charges' being covered. I thought it would simplify billings as we age. As it turned out the cancer center where I was treated does not accept Medicare assignment so assesses 'excess charges' which have all been covered by my supplement. So the plan G paid off almost immediately. My wife is very pleased that I made that decision, as am I.