USGrant1962
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Isn't it so affordable because someone else is paying for your insurance? My wife and I are about to retire but are not feeling great about having others subsidize our health insurance.
Since it seems most people on this site have enough money to retire early it sure seems probable that they could also buy their own insurance without needing others to subsidize it for them.
What am I missing or is this just the way it is in order avoid paying $2,500 a month for an off the marketplace plan?
You really shouldn't worry about getting a health insurance subsidy. There is only a tiny segment of the population that is NOT subsidized and that is not based on income/wealth. Basically only those who are upper income and retired and under 65; and maybe those who stay on unsubsidized COBRA between jobs. I guesstimated one time it is maybe 1% of the population, though probably less now with the elimination of the subsidy cliff. About 11 million are on ACA plans, or 3% of the population, and I've seen somewhere that 85% of those are subsidized.
Everyone else is subsidized in one way or another. Examples:
- Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Michael Bloomberg and 61 million others - 65+ on Medicare, subsidized
- Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and 156 million others - employer provided, business expense deduction and not taxed on personal income taxes, subsidized
- Small business owners/self-employed - business expense deduction and not taxed on personal income taxes, subsidized
- The poor - Medicaid, subsidized
- Me - can deduct health insurance against my consulting income on Schedule C, subsidized