Retirement: Health Care

[Anonymous]

I got layoff recently. I don't think I will find another job in this market. Cobra offer by the company is expensive ($1350 per month PPO). Where do you buy health care? I am 61.5 years Should I join AARP/AAA or what to get lower rate? Any recommendation.

[Anonymous]

Check out ACA plans on the marketplace. They may or may not be better than COBRA.

[Anonymous]

Obamacare

This is what it's for. Good luck.

Other option is trying to find another job...but that's not easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obamacare

This is what it's for. Good luck.

Other option is trying to find another job...but that's not easy.

In addition to using Obamacare, try to manage your income such that you have as little taxable income as possible so that you get the highest subsidy. For example, if you have cash, spend that before withdrawing from a 401k. You may be able to get an ACA plan for very little cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got layoff recently. I don't think I will find another job in this market. Cobra offer by the company is expensive ($1350 per month PPO). Where do you buy health care? I am 61.5 years Should I join AARP/AAA or what to get lower rate? Any recommendation.

You pay the Cobra. ACA for a similar plan will cost a lot more

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got layoff recently. I don't think I will find another job in this market. Cobra offer by the company is expensive ($1350 per month PPO). Where do you buy health care? I am 61.5 years Should I join AARP/AAA or what to get lower rate? Any recommendation.

You pay the Cobra. ACA for a similar plan will cost a lot more

This is not necessarily true. ACA may well cost a lot less if OP has no or limited income because of the subsidies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got layoff recently. I don't think I will find another job in this market. Cobra offer by the company is expensive ($1350 per month PPO). Where do you buy health care? I am 61.5 years Should I join AARP/AAA or what to get lower rate? Any recommendation.

You pay the Cobra. ACA for a similar plan will cost a lot more

I’m 58 in Virginia and my Silver ACA plan is half what this person is citing for COBRA.

[Anonymous]

My silver plan for a family of 3 was quoted at just under $2000/mo when I was looking.

[Anonymous]

Check if the OBBB changed subsidies.

[Anonymous]

AARP doesn't sell insurance directly. Look to the ACA/Obamacare for health insurance.

[Anonymous]

If your income is low you should be able to qualify for pretty generous obamacare subsidies even if the extra subsidies don't get extended.

[Anonymous]

I'm a little younger than you OP and am going through this right now. Depending on your plan and your health you may want to keep COBRA. The cheaper ACA plans (at least in VA) are HMOs, not PPOs and the deductibles are pretty high. A company PPO plan is probably equivalent to most ACA "gold" plans, not the low-level affordable bronze and silver plans. If you're in perfect health, going with a low-level plan may not matter, but if you see a couple of specialists, take any brand-name meds, or see an out-of-network therapist, your costs may go up a lot more than you think.

Also, call every doctor you see and make sure they will take the specific plan you're considering, not just the insurance company (for example, some take United Healthcare but not the ACA UHC plans). And don't go by the search tool provided, it's not accurate. After doing a deep-dive on all of this, I ended up keeping COBRA for over a year and I'd keep it longer than 18 months if it were an option. It's expensive but so much better than what I could get on the ACA, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

The Obamacare under the Affordable Care Act is expensive even for the cheapest silver plan. My deductible for one person is $7000 but that was all that I could afford.

I believe the Mennonites have some health insurance plans available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a little younger than you OP and am going through this right now. Depending on your plan and your health you may want to keep COBRA. The cheaper ACA plans (at least in VA) are HMOs, not PPOs and the deductibles are pretty high. A company PPO plan is probably equivalent to most ACA "gold" plans, not the low-level affordable bronze and silver plans. If you're in perfect health, going with a low-level plan may not matter, but if you see a couple of specialists, take any brand-name meds, or see an out-of-network therapist, your costs may go up a lot more than you think.

Also, call every doctor you see and make sure they will take the specific plan you're considering, not just the insurance company (for example, some take United Healthcare but not the ACA UHC plans). And don't go by the search tool provided, it's not accurate. After doing a deep-dive on all of this, I ended up keeping COBRA for over a year and I'd keep it longer than 18 months if it were an option. It's expensive but so much better than what I could get on the ACA, unfortunately.

+1

IN different state, where our best options on ACA are "EPOs", and those are expensive, even the bronze/silver plans with high deductibles. COBRA is much more affordable for much better coverage (dental and vision are a part of it). COBRA is $2400, $1K Deductible/$2Kfamily deductible, max OOP $7K family. Silver EPO for just medical is $2700/momth, $7K+/14K+ max OOP with deductibles over $3K. Add in vision dental and it will be well over $3K (and you need dental for negotiated prices)

[Anonymous]

They haven't updated it to reflect next year's premiums yet, but this calculator from KFF, a nonprofit that analyzes health policy, will give you an idea of what sorts of premiums you would pay for an ACA plan.

https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

Your out-of-pocket cost will depend a lot on whether your income is too high to qualify for federal subsidies.

Another wild card is that Congress passed bumped up the ACA federal subsidies during the pandemic. The higher levels expire at the end of this year. If Congress doesn't extend them, most people with ACA plans will pay more for coverage, and some people who currently receive federal subsidies for coverage will no longer qualify for subsidies.

Extending the enhanced subsidies is one of the big "demands" that Democrats in Congress are making of Republicans right now in order to vote for a continuing resolution to keep the federal government from shutting down. So far Republicans don't want to play ball.