A friend needs advice

My wife retired at 59.5, I retired at 52, I am 8 years younger than my wife.... After Cobra was exhausted 18 months, we signed up with Christian Healthcare Ministries ....... We went from paying $1200+ with a high deductible down to, at the time $300 for the both of us ..... Today, my wife is 70, I am 62 and still with CHM .... I pay $267 Per month
Was the CHM coverage considered "creditable coverage" when she signed up for Medicare? If you sign up past age 65 (which DH did at age 76 after being on my employer's policy since I'd just retired) we could prove that he'd had creditable coverage up to that date and thus avoided paying a permanent surcharge. I'd thought CHM didn't count as creditable.

I also agree with sticking with IBM- most likely lower potential out-of-pocket and a wider network of docs than ACA.
 
If you recall, when you initally signed up for the ACA, no plan options were given until YOU PICKED THE DOCTOR. My daughter's DOCTOR was shown in the plan she picked. When she went for her first appointment, she was told her DOCTOR did not accept ACA insurance.
I've had parallel issues... ACA plan screener would show Dr X, Facility Y are in plan, but Dr. X's and Facility Y's website say they are not accepting that plan. Made for some harrowing last minute gymnastics to re-apply/enroll into a different plan. I'm not looking forward to doing this again next month.
 
My wife retired at 59.5, I retired at 52, I am 8 years younger than my wife.... After Cobra was exhausted 18 months, we signed up with Christian Healthcare Ministries ....... We went from paying $1200+ with a high deductible down to, at the time $300 for the both of us ..... Today, my wife is 70, I am 62 and still with CHM .... I pay $267 Per month
To be clear, Christian Healthcare Ministries and other Health Sharing plans are not insurance. They are plans where you pay into a fund that then reimburses members for healthcare costs. It's an important distinction and a good option for some. Important to do your research to see if it is right for you.
 
New York has very robust ACA plans. We looked into this option for our daughter after college and many major medical systems such as Mount Sinai, NY Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, NYU Langone were in it. All of her doctors participated. In general, the bluer the state, the more support there is for ACA coverage and plans. We live in TN. The ACA options are garbage. Very few participants, very expensive, and no coverage for doctors outside of TN. We buy our insurance through TN Farm Bureau. It is underwritten by United Healthcare so we have national coverage which is important for us because we travel a lot. We are 53 and pay $764 for family coverage (a married couple is the same as a family with kids). Our premiums will go up as we age. It was more like old-school insurance plans in that we had to answer questions about our health and all conditions were considered pre-existing for 6 months. They can reject you if you're not healthy enough or the initial cost could be high due to your health, but if you're relatively healthy as we were when we applied, it is a great option. I was since diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis but since it was after enrolling, no increase in insurance premium costs. The coverage has been fantastic. Are there other state organizations that are doing this - grouping people together to get group coverage? I have to think this option exists in other states for other organizations. Anyone know of others like this?
 
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