Need Medical Ins.Recomendations

[knunut]

Lost job by being outsourced.Want to Full/Part time it.Need Medical Insurance for myself and wife,any Recommendation's ? I will be 60 next April.
Thank's

[Boondocker]

Find someone on faculity at a local (or not local) university who will let you take independent study hours (say history of the south west or where ever you are going to be traveling) take enough hours to qualify for insurance . Good news is you get insurance priced for 20 year olds, bad news is you would have to produce some sort of product, probally a paper, to do this.

[2airishuman]

not a lot of info in your post...

so here is a general appraoch that may work for you...

IF you are currently/still covered now by employment policy...

you are entitled to cobra continuation of this coverage, about 12-18 months worth...

you will need to pay the premium but DO IT and your current coverage continues...

IF you have cobra coverage now, you cannot be turned down by other plans for coverage following cobra...

once you've expended your cobra time, your next policy will kick it.

shop for new coverage before the cobra expires, at least 3-4 months.

a new plan policy will usually insist you use up ALL of the cobra coverage, unless you start a new job which provides coverage

bc/bs of illinois and bc/bc of chicago offer individual plans...

so does humana and aetna...

pick a plan with a HIGH deductible..as in 2500 or 5000$ which will lower premiums greatly...

even with a high deductible having a major insurance policy is important
because prices for EVERYTHING will be lower...
the big companies all have a negotiated rate for procedures, tests and doctors fees.
small companies don't all have these and this is where you really will save money.

skip the dental or medication coverage UNLESS you are already taking 2 or more meds daily...

you can expect the premium to be 5-700$ per person, even with the really high deductable

and more IF you've got expensive chronic illnesses.....

but IF you let cobra lapse OR apply for a new plan without a current plan, you can be denied for many reasons...

the above approach, will get you good coverage for major issues for 3-5 years until medicare kicks in...

then look for a gap policy...

you cannot scam the student health plans and have real coverage.
first they are ALL aware of this and
second the coverage is incomplete.
third you may not have coverage while away from the assigned provider or while traveling...

if you are honestly a student and enrolled in adequate hours and not traveling, and the coverage is adequate, well fine....

cheers
2air'

[Silvertwinkie]

What did you do and/or what areas of of skill would you be talking about?

[Mike Lewis]

We had the exact same situation when I retired early ---We went with a major medical policy only, with a high deduct.. Cost was $126. per person per month--$5000 deduct. We pay for our doctor office call visits, prescription drugs, eye glasses etc. That said ,we found this our best option.---pieman

[Foiled Again]

One key question... were only people over a certain age outsourced? If so, you may have the makings of an age discrimination suit. And yes, it can be a Federal case. Make very very very sure of your facts though.

The above advice about Cobra is absolutely Golden.... follow it to a tee. Your former employer was obligated to tell you about it and to offer to help you get it set up... so if he didn't, make a big stink.

Unfortunately if you have bad health, it is a major problem for smaller businesses to hire you... it just creams their premiums for all of the rest of their workers.

I don't know what your career is, but Wal-Mart is usually more than willing to hire older workers especially in areas like the jewelry, electronics and sports departments where there a lot of high ticket items - because we have a lick of common sense, don't use drugs, can remember to lock the display cases... and don't generally have criminal records. The pay is mediocre and hours are miserable, and being on your feet for hours gets to be more difficult as we age. Recently Wal-Mart hired a mildly handicapped friend of mine as a cashier, provided her with a stool and gave her 4 and 6 hour shifts to meet her limitations, when no one else would touch her. Any port in a storm, right? And she gets a discount on groceries and clothing, and will be eligible for insurance shortly.

Paula Ford

[Foiled Again]

Great post about Cobra. Sending you MUCH good Karma.

Paula

[thecatsandi]

COBRA first for up to 18 months. If the company goes out of business COBRA ends. I had this happen. Conversion is possible but will likely be expensive. I was turned down by two insurance companies. This qualified me for State sponsored Insurance. That is what I have now. Currnetly the only bennifet I use from my tax dollars.

[Silvertwinkie]

Bottom line, most of us have been in this situation. In the end, the nickle and dime stuff though expensive, is small change compared to the real issue, which is the high cost of some things we all will need as one ages, getting coverage for the bigger issues some, if not most of us face. For example, in some cases having a kid can cost $30k+. If you had to pay $1500, compared to $28,500........

Those darn $250 Band-Aids will get you every time.

[2airishuman]

pieman...

your rate reflects the 5k deductable...
just guessing, your policy would have been 170$-210$ monthly at 2500$ deduct...

also you are in newmexico where rates are a tad better, arizona better still...

other interested in this issue...

the poster appears to live in illinois....
very very high rates in the land on lincoln....

however illinois does have something not every state has...

a plan/risk pool for folks who may not qualify or cannot affort other insurance plans...

the illinois comprehensive health insurance plan...ichip...

Illinois CHIP

here's a link with the info and options....

also includes a premium/rate calculator....

but don't run the numbers unless you are sittling down...

without more info from knunut it's hard to offer much else...

my concern and a memory point for everyone....

is the cobra coverage...

often employers just skim over this issue,

or the benefits person is 'legally vague' during the exit process...

and folks see the premium (which will be much higher than their original permiums) then,

the displaced worker signs off and declines the cobra option...

IF we/you/knunut, ANYONE does this....you become uninsured and potentially can be denied by every legit insurance company...

so everyone needs to think long and hard about signing OFF on cobra...

cheers
2air'

this has been a public service announcement.....

[Chaplain Kent]

Thank-you Air for the great info. One thing I want to emphasize is that you are now in a position to negotiate. You no longer will be tied to one doctor or one clinic, one hospital. Of course you will want to find the best care but the best care does not mean the most expensive. Example-A colonoscopy in a hospital will cost you about $6,000. The same procedure in a clinic will cost about $1,600. Many people have insurance policies with high deductibles, like Realtors, or self employed contractors, shop owners. If you know some of these people talk to them and get their advice for health care. Good luck with your new adventure.

[Melody Ranch]

A Federal Judge in Miami, FLA, decreed that illegal aliens that show up at a hospital emergency room are "entitled" to free medical care.....the case in point was heart surgery. This Federal decree had major impacts at hospitals across the U.S.

I see many Retired, short of medical insurance, spend the winter in South Texas primarily for the plentiful and inexpensive medical and dental facilities in Mexico. Pharmacy is especially attractive. (Viagra is a big seller in that bunch of Winter Texans.)

Texas is short of Teachers. Health care in that group sounds good. Pay????

Come to Texas....live on the Border, teach school, enjoy the sun and Beach, no State Income TAX and claim that your Illegal.

[pmclemore]

Page and I used our entire 18 months on cobra; there was no other shopping to do in VA for insurance. I contacted our local Farm Bureau and was able to join their member group. That is a contact worth trying by you - the coverage available to ANY group is superior to individual coverage.

Now a caution: The lit said the underwriters would not consider any apps until 45 days before you wanted to coverage to become eligible. So we couldn't really start the process til late. Second, they will go over your health history pretty thoroughly - but don't tell them anything you don't have to - after all, you are not a medical expert. Telling all is like sitting down in front of the other guy's lawyer without your own man there to guide you. Tell the truth but be cautious.

And while I was away on our trip this summer, I ran out of my lipitor - about two weeks' worth. When I got home and called the doc, he said he would give me a sample to carry me over, and I could give a blood sample while I was at it. Well, guess what? My blood cholesterol was elevated and he dutifully noted that in my chart. Guess what again? The insurance underwriter assigned me to a higher risk (higher premium, of course) because my levels were up.

Sorry for the rant.

Pat

[fr8tshaker]

An HSA is a tax advantaged health saving account. You never loose the money, it just sits in the account and grows if you don't use it . After your deductable has been met every year the insurance company starts paying. All of the unused monies that accumulate can be used for health care related costs including paying for medicare B & D premiums or medigap policy or longterm care policy premiums. Go to HSA Insider for an overview of how these plans work. Since medicare is in worse shape than SS I keep hoping that my employer will convert our health plan to one so I can have a tax advantaged healthcare account when I retire. Also these plans premiums are substantially cheaper than insurance through COBRA. Don't let the deductiable scare you, talk with a financial planner or retirement planner if the web site isn't clear for you. After crunching the number I think you will see the long term benefits of an HSA. Hope this helps. 'shaker

PS-Keep your COBRA in place until the HSA kicks in.

[Happycampers]

Move to Canada and claim to be a refugee and instant health coverage.. but go the legal immigration route and you will wait a year and will have to pay for all medical...our taxes may be high but we all have health coverage.

[05ModPod]

So that is why are rates are going up, and more and more fees are being dropped from the plan - we have to share it with all the Happy Campers

[Happycampers]

Sharon.. We will try and stay healthy and not use it all up..