sakowitzm
Recycles dryer sheets
You've gotten a lot of very good advice here, and it's not my intent to muddy the waters. But none of it has touched on what might be a fine and fairly simple solution for you, as it has been for me - a faith-based health sharing plan. Google that phrase and explore a little.
I'm 62 and a widower. When my wife passed I was faced with a choice of COBRA for a while or ACA. Both of which would have cost well over $10K/year, even with the barest Bronze Plan. And of course that's before deductibles, co-pays, etc.
So I chose one of these, primarily as a catastrophic plan. Like you, I'm very healthy and use very little healthcare services - 3 or 4 doctor appointments a year, one fairly inexpensive prescription (thank goodness for GoodRx!), and I do bloodwork a couple of times a year to keep an eye on things, mainly my PSA.
There are many downsides/negatives to these plans - no/limited coverage for mental health, alcoholism, and other non-Biblical things (hah!) And limited coverage for the first year and second year. And for me, I pay 100% of my expenses out of pocket, and (so far!) have not even had to deal with reimbursements. I pay $219/month for the coverage and have less than $2,000/year in out of pocket expenses. Some plans cost as little as $110/month. So I figure I'm saving at least $8K/year.
I just entered my third year, so everything is covered, and should the big one (heart attack? cancer?) arrive, I should be in at least okay shape, financially.
I'm 62 and a widower. When my wife passed I was faced with a choice of COBRA for a while or ACA. Both of which would have cost well over $10K/year, even with the barest Bronze Plan. And of course that's before deductibles, co-pays, etc.
So I chose one of these, primarily as a catastrophic plan. Like you, I'm very healthy and use very little healthcare services - 3 or 4 doctor appointments a year, one fairly inexpensive prescription (thank goodness for GoodRx!), and I do bloodwork a couple of times a year to keep an eye on things, mainly my PSA.
There are many downsides/negatives to these plans - no/limited coverage for mental health, alcoholism, and other non-Biblical things (hah!) And limited coverage for the first year and second year. And for me, I pay 100% of my expenses out of pocket, and (so far!) have not even had to deal with reimbursements. I pay $219/month for the coverage and have less than $2,000/year in out of pocket expenses. Some plans cost as little as $110/month. So I figure I'm saving at least $8K/year.
I just entered my third year, so everything is covered, and should the big one (heart attack? cancer?) arrive, I should be in at least okay shape, financially.
