I need to get health insurance for two years before I am eligible for Medicare. I have been employed all my life and used my employer's health plans so this is new territory for me. In NC if that makes a difference.
What do you use for you and your spouse and what does it cost per month?
It’s all based upon how much you claim you make per year. If you have no debt and can live off a small amount, it might surprise you that insurance could be free.
Yea check with the Obama care and you can ride it for couple years if not its gets expensive
Look for a broker in your area that will help you get on the exchange if you qualify. I’ve retired and am on Medicare but my bride is younger and she had to go on the exchange. Pretty good insurance for $195.00 a month but a pretty high deductible. I told her she’s going to have to cut back on the sky diving and motorcycle racing.
I use the ACA program in VT when I retired at 61. Still have a little under 2.5 years until Medicare.
The ACA program is based on income. I have to predict my income during open enrollment in November for the following year. I qualify for a subsidy. Last year was my first year of retirement.
Before I retired, I put together an excel spreadsheet to list all of my bills so I knew how much money I needed monthly, etc. Also did another one to keep track of all income like SS, stock dividends, savings interest, IRA distributions. I use both documents to help predict my income for ACA health insurance.
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Maybe someone on here does this but I was told if you can live on cash for the entire year you show no income then look at ACA.Originally Posted by Bob G.
I'm planning on that for two or three years.
Do not search on obama care or you will be inundated with calls. Go directly to aca site.
United Healthcare has some short term policies that you have to renew every year. No pre existing conditions, high deductibles, etc. Around $500 per month depending on the plan you pick. It's not for someone that needs lots of healtcare, more of a saftey net. But the current administration has seen that people are using it to stay out of Obamacare, and are trying to put together executive orders to kill these plans.
True, live on cash and show no income except for interest. I could have lived on one of my savings accounts but prefer to keep it for emergency funds. I don't want to be one of the 37% of Americans that can't cover a $400 emergency expense.
If you have a Roth IRA, the distributions after 5 years/59.5 are tax free and don't count as income. I wasn't bright enough to start a Roth IRA when I was working, I contributed to a traditional IRA and 401k.
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As mentioned above, the ACA Exchange is your best bet. You will have to enter an "estimated income" to get your rate and subsidy. Be conservative (i.e. enter an amount on the high end of your expected range) since if you end up making more you will have to re-pay your subsidy at the end of the year. The short-term plans can work, but they are not guaranteed renewable, which means if you get sick they don't have to renew the plan or give you the same rate once the initial 6 month period is up. I am not a fan of the "Christian Sharing Plans" but there may be some other options such as association plans that use traditional carriers like BC/BS but they vary a lot by state and may require health questions to see if you are eligible. If it gets too confusing, you can find a local agent but make sure they are a general agent and have access to all carriers (i.e. not tied to just one company). Good luck.
I did a three year without ins. Health was good and I went to a family doctor that gave me a break by paying cash.
She let me have blood work at her cost (unbelieve how cheap it was) and I went two times a year. I was lucky with my health. She took very good care of me. She always helped seniors when she could.
Have you checked on Cobra insurance from your last employer?
This may be your lowest-cost option.
So you are not employed? I was on ACA Exchange for 5 years, for two people it was close to free for us. Go to Heathcare.gov and look it over.
How do you predict how much you will make teaching your pole dancing classes at the senior center?
Last edited by billspence; 07-17-2023 at 09:18 AM. Reason: Bob G went with the "ACA" tattoo cause it was a lot cheaper than "Obamacare"
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Good to know. We were offered Roth thru work starting about 4 years ago in addition to our 401K. I'm shoving money in there also. At least I'll have options. Thanks.True, live on cash and show no income except for interest. I could have lived on one of my savings accounts but prefer to keep it for emergency funds. I don't want to be one of the 37% of Americans that can't cover a $400 emergency expense.
If you have a Roth IRA, the distributions after 5 years/59.5 are tax free and don't count as income. I wasn't bright enough to start a Roth IRA when I was working, I contributed to a traditional IRA and 401k.
Tips are Cash, some change!
Last edited by LateralLine; 07-17-2023 at 12:34 PM.
Affordable Care Act (Healthcare.gov) is the first place to check. Its premiums/plans are dependent upon total household income. Not sure about a couple in NC, but for a single in KY you needed to have an income (MAGI) of around $18,000 to qualify or you were referred to medicaid, and subsidies phased out at around $45,000.
I would do this.. There are also other options based on your area that might be better (more affordable) than ACA.
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Cobra is insane. I recently switched employers and the insurance at my current place doesn’t become active for 56 days or so. Cobra was 103% of previous employer cost and would run me about $1700 for two months of insurance.
You could get into a state insurance marketplace and it’ll be nearly half the cost.
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