ACA plan poll - What color do you have and why?

[Rianne]

Bronze/HSA. If we stay healthy, couple of DR visits, some blood chemistry, our year HC spend should be @ $3000 including everything, maybe less. It was @ $2500 for the year 2018 (including premiums).

 

[jimbee]

We have a silver plan. This year we did not have a bronze plan option in my county on the ACA exchange.

 

[bingybear]

Bronze with HSA, no subsidy. Usually the highest deductible that has my choice of docs.

I would be careful picking and HSA with CDR as sometimes the CSR makes the plan non-compliant with HSAs.

Typically we don't have all that much in medical expenses. However I may pick a different plan when I get my pacemaker changed.

 

[saydiver]

DH only - FL Blue Bronze PPO with HSA, no subsidy - $1,187/mo with $6K deductible

 

[Texas Proud]

Also silver with CSR....


BUT, I have not had a choice of plans the last two years.... it seems that my DD can go on CHIPS if I claim low enough income to qualify... the threshold for CHIPS is just over the 200% level...


I am grandfathered in with my plan for now but DS is dropping off next year and I think I will be stuck... do not know what plan I will chose then...

 

[Aerides]

+1
Every doctor around here takes Florida Blue and there is no differentiation between ACA plans or regular plans.

But provider and plan are not the same for acceptance. I shopped on the ACA for available doctors, and really wanted access to the Cleveland Clinic - was only available for me for a handful of higher end ACA Florida Blue plans - the super expensive Gold+ stuff, nothing in Bronze despite an otherwise good set of options.

 

[RunningBum]

But provider and plan are not the same for acceptance. I shopped on the ACA for available doctors, and really wanted access to the Cleveland Clinic - was only available for me for a handful of higher end ACA Florida Blue plans - the super expensive Gold+ stuff, nothing in Bronze despite an otherwise good set of options.

Interesting, I had never noticed that, but I really only look for 3 or 4 doctors I'm likely to use.

 

[Dtail]

Interesting, I had never noticed that, but I really only look for 3 or 4 doctors I'm likely to use.

Same here. Good to know.

 

[bingybear]

Also silver with CSR....


BUT, I have not had a choice of plans the last two years.... it seems that my DD can go on CHIPS if I claim low enough income to qualify... the threshold for CHIPS is just over the 200% level...


I am grandfathered in with my plan for now but DS is dropping off next year and I think I will be stuck... do not know what plan I will chose then...

I don't know about CHIPS, but if you go on medicaid you can have Estate recovery in some states.

I must be doing something wrong. I keep doing Roth conversions instead.

 

[Tallman4123]

Bronze Point-of-Service plan with $6k deductible and $7.8k OOP Max per person. We pay $12 per month for the two of us with a subsidy of $1221 per month.

 

[pb4uski]

We are healthy and generally have very few HI claims... perhaps $1k a year on average for the both of us... lower than even gold deductibles... so lowest premium is best for us.

In our area, gold vs bronze is $1,464 less a year and silver vs bronze is $780 less a year... and those are per person.

So in short, we're making a calculated bet that our claims at negotiated rates in any given year will be less than the difference in deductibles offset by the difference in premiums... and it has worked out great for us so far.

All of the above are unsubsidized.

 

[Rickt]

Bronze with HSA. No premium after advanced tax credit ($1948)
Annual wellcare visit covered 100% including blood work.

 

[Carpediem]

OP here....thanks for all the responses so far. Did anyone make the decision to pass on 18 mos. of Cobra in favor of ACA coverage? My Cobra rate would be around $1100/mth so I'm guessing the answer to the question is a definite "yes" but just wanting to confirm.

 

[RunningBum]

OP here....thanks for all the responses so far. Did anyone make the decision to pass on 18 mos. of Cobra in favor of ACA coverage? My Cobra rate would be around $1100/mth so I'm guessing the answer to the question is a definite "yes" but just wanting to confirm.

I skipped Cobra for unsubsidized individual health insurance in 2011. Cobra was too expensive. As I recall we had some kind of retiree health plan, though I may not have stayed around long enough to get that, but I remember looking at the rate table and calling HR to ask if it was monthly or quarterly. If was monthly, so I didn't care if I qualified or not. Probably lower deductible, but still too much.

 

[Carpediem]

I skipped Cobra for unsubsidized individual health insurance in 2011. Cobra was too expensive. As I recall we had some kind of retiree health plan, though I may not have stayed around long enough to get that, but I remember looking at the rate table and calling HR to ask if it was monthly or quarterly. If was monthly, so I didn't care if I qualified or not. Probably lower deductible, but still too much.

Speaking of retiree health care, I qualify for it, however, it is not subsidized so I would be paying something like $2000/mth. Never quite understood why Cobra is cheaper than retiree HC. Maybe it's because Cobra is short-term.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Low users, Bronze plan.

 

[N02L84ER]

Bronze for 4+ years. Very low users except for 1 year out-of-state emergency gallbladder removal. Retired before ACA passed.

 

[sengsational]

OP here....thanks for all the responses so far. Did anyone make the decision to pass on 18 mos. of Cobra in favor of ACA coverage? My Cobra rate would be around $1100/mth so I'm guessing the answer to the question is a definite "yes" but just wanting to confirm.

Many, including me, did pass on COBRA. In fact, because of the time-lag between no job and signing up for ACA, there's the strategy employed by many to "don't say no" to COBRA (but don't say "yes" either). Written in the law is that you have some number of days to "pay the bill". If you don't pay the bill, you're out, but I think it's something like 90 days. This way, if something "bad happens" between when you quit and when the ACA kicks-in, you DO pay the bill and use that to cover the bad thing. But in all likelihood, nothing bad happens, you don't pay the bill, and ACA kicks-in.

 

[orchid55]

We did not skip Cobra because it was cheaper and had better coverage - nationwide PPO, lower deductible, lower premiums- than the unsubsidized ACA options. We stayed on it for the full 18 months.

 

[Texas Proud]

I don't know about CHIPS, but if you go on medicaid you can have Estate recovery in some states.

I must be doing something wrong. I keep doing Roth conversions instead.

Texas does not have expanded medicaid...



I will probably do some this year and see what happens next year... I will have to pay the normal ACA with no CSR... so might go bronze... we will see...

 

[pb4uski]

OP here....thanks for all the responses so far. Did anyone make the decision to pass on 18 mos. of Cobra in favor of ACA coverage? My Cobra rate would be around $1100/mth so I'm guessing the answer to the question is a definite "yes" but just wanting to confirm.

I did. COBRA was ~$900/ for month for a couple for HDHI. I was able to get similar coverage in the individual market (pre-ACA but no medical underwring or ore-existing conditions) for $550/month for a couple (in 2012).

 

[jimbee]

OP here....thanks for all the responses so far. Did anyone make the decision to pass on 18 mos. of Cobra in favor of ACA coverage? My Cobra rate would be around $1100/mth so I'm guessing the answer to the question is a definite "yes" but just wanting to confirm.

I passed on COBRA because it was a lot more expensive than the ACA plan I purchased, and I don't use a lot of medical services.

 

[beppie58]

Bronze here in VA and I only have a 40.00 copay for my regular Dr. it's not a bad plan!

 

[bingybear]

I stayed on cobra as long as I could. The plan was better and the cost lower. I had worked for a company with a younger demographic which made the insurance less expensive. Cobra also had a national network and some international coverage.

 

[VanWinkle]

DW and I have silver plan due to cost sharing w/150 ded and 2600 OOP max.

She will be solo after November as I will start Medicare then. She needs coverage to 06-2020 until she turns 65.