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Early retirement health coverage


mr clean

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i’ve been blessed in this regard. I have Tricare from my military retirement and also since the VA rated me at 60%, i get everything through them for free.  When i retired from my county job, i turned down their retiree medical (it would have cost me $550 per month) -- i didn’t need triple coverage, especially at that price.

Hope you find a deal that is manageable for you.

 

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Being self employed for the last 20 years I can tell you there is no good coverage at anything resembling a decent price. In the last 3-4 years there is no good coverage at any price. Also, It is very state dependent as Jim said. Its a shame the Ins. companies get to write the legislation and you have to buy it from the provider in-state. Providers are consolidating and leaving my state so once you get to only a couple of providers there really is no shopping around or competition.

 

A few years back I took a job with a company mainly for health benefits. I could only work for "the man" for about 7 months before I was contemplating a gun in my mouth. COBRA was a real treat. You pay 102% of what your employer is paying. Basically you are paying their part + yours after you leave the company +2% for them administrating the plan. It seems strange writing the company you left a check (I thought it would go directly to the Ins. Company) every month. The downside is it only lasts for 18 months. It was my favorite payment for those 1.5 years. Way, way, way better coverage and a lot less than what I paid on my own. I wish I could get coverage like that today. It was just under $1,000 a month with dental and vision with a 1,500 dollar family (total) deductible.

 

I'm in my 50s, married with zero kids very healthy. It costs me and my wife about $1,500 a month for a $6500 dollar deductible EACH. No prescription drug coverage, no vision, no dental. Needless to say the deductible is never met. So basically I'm paying the better part of $20K a year to get zero in return. Now if I get a blood test that is $135 and the Ins. Co. says customary and reasonable is $45 I only have to pay the $45....so there is some savings there. I feel bad for the guy/gal with nothing that has to come up with the $135 for 30 second blood draw and 2 minutes of testing. If they are willing to take the $45 that the Ins. co. says is customary and reasonable why isn't  that just the price? Its not like you can walk into an emergency room to get just a blood draw. You have to go to a location that only does blood work, no other health care at all, provide a payment method before you ever see the phlebotomist. So that lame argument about it has to be that expensive to cover all the "takers" that are deadbeats and go to the Dr. and can't pay simply does not hold water here.

 

Sorry for the rant, touchy subject with me. I'm sure 90% of the hard working people out there that get benefits from one spouse's company or the other never give this a thought. You ***** about your copay going up from 20-30 dollars for a doctor visit and take your kids in for antibiotics at every sign of a sniffle, even though they are not effective on viruses. When your employer raises your monthly portion from $300 a month to $400 next year don't complain. Count your blessings. I feel lucky that I make enough to pay my outrageous monthly payments for zero coverage and pray I never get into the type of predicament that sees my wife and I actually meet our combined $13,000 deductible. Think of that. We get in a car wreck and both lose an arm in say December. We have paid almost 20K for the insurance, now another 13K to meet the deductible. I can remember days when I didn't make 33K a year. Now I get to only pay 20% of whatever was so catastrophic that actually let me meet my deductible. I can't imagine the bills that would follow that sort of problem. I honestly don't know what a family of 4 making say $80K a year would do. Sad, very sad. 

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} I retired early and used COBRA through my wife’s employer for the full 18 months. This was when problems with Obamacare (ACA) we’re beginning to surface and private insurance had become ridiculous. And between the time I had the outrageous quote from BlueCross and making a decision Every health care company pulled out of the Kansas market plaice. Long story short, Cobra was a good deal with the irony being the employers coverage was through, you guessed it, BlueCross. I do believe that many years ago, before health insurance became the mess it is, it was COBRA that was unaffordable vs.private insurance —

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9 minutes ago, richieb said:

I do believe that many years ago, before health insurance became the mess it is, it was COBRA that was unaffordable vs.private insurance —

 

Very true from my experience. In the mid to late 90s.

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I am fortunate.
Military TriCare covered my family for ~ $500 / year
I turned 65
I now have Medicare primary and TriCare for life for me. The family is still covered under TriCare Prime at the same cost of ~$500 / year
My Medicare premium has a $57.80 surcharge due to my income.
I was paying ~$42.00  for the family. After my 65th birthday I now pay $244.40 per month for the same coverage. 
So my birthday cost me $200 a month.

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4 hours ago, oldtimer said:

Get a union.

I'd love to retire early but since I can't afford it at 63 and will have to go to 70 I got myself a pretty good union gig,$168 a month gets me medical ,dental and vision for me and the wife.

If we still had kids in the house they'd be covered too at the same price.

Medical insurance is more than half the reason I'm still working.

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I pay almost $1200 for me and my young wife and I'll be 64 in Jan , soon after , I'll be on medicare of some sort , I guess .

 

SS will pay me $1400 a month if I retire at 64.5  , if I wait till 70 , I'll get  $2k a month

 

I'll check out cobra when that time comes 

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There was a plan in congress to allow for people buy into Medicare early, but it didn’t go far. 

 

I have heard there are penalties if you don’t have adequate insurance prior to Medicare. 

 

I’m a decade away from potentially retiring early and medical insurance may make work longer than otherwise needed. That stinks. 

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