I appreciate the info. Thx!

Anonymous wrote:Every career decision DH & I made was about health insurance, since our mid-30's (pre ACA). DH had cancer young and after recovering had to hold on to his job for dear life or it meant he was uninsurable. Same for life insurance. We have been scared re: cost and insurability our entire adult lives.

Why can’t you’re DH move to a job w health insurance? Most corporate employer health insurance do not have pre-existing clause.

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Anonymous wrote:I haven’t looked into it, but my understand is that neither Medicaid nor Obamacare subsidies have asset tests. So if you can control your passive income, you can get subsidized health care.

Medicaid has both asset tests and savings limits. It varies by state. My MIL could not get it here with $900 a month income.

It definitely does for the Medicaid that covers LTC, including a 5 year look-back, etc etc. But I'm not aware of an asset test for straight Medicaid for the under-65 crowd.

You may not be aware of it as you've never looked for it. Of course they have an asset test for straight medicaid under 65. They also look at your income. More people would be on it if they didn't look at assets and income. Think about it. My MIL is on LTC medicaid now. But, since you know there is no income or asset limit, then why was she denied?

As I wrote, Medicaid for LTC has a very strict asset test. They also have an income test for ANY form of Medicaid.

From the Medicaid.gov eligiblity page:
"MAGI is used to determine financial eligibility for Medicaid, CHIP, and premium tax credits and cost sharing reductions available through the health insurance marketplace ...

MAGI is the basis for determining Medicaid income eligibility for most children, pregnant women, parents and adults. The MAGI-based methodology considers taxable income and tax filing relationships to determine financial eligibility for Medicaid. MAGI replaced the former process for calculating Medicaid eligibility, which was based on the methodologies of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program that ended in 1996. The MAGI-based methodology does not allow for income disregards that vary by state or by eligibility group, and does not allow for an asset or resource test."

As I wrote, Medicaid for LTC has a very strict asset test. They also have an income test for ANY form of Medicaid.

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Anonymous wrote:I haven’t looked into it, but my understand is that neither Medicaid nor Obamacare subsidies have asset tests. So if you can control your passive income, you can get subsidized health care.

Medicaid has both asset tests and savings limits. It varies by state. My MIL could not get it here with $900 a month income.

It definitely does for the Medicaid that covers LTC, including a 5 year look-back, etc etc. But I'm not aware of an asset test for straight Medicaid for the under-65 crowd.

You may not be aware of it as you've never looked for it. Of course they have an asset test for straight medicaid under 65. They also look at your income. More people would be on it if they didn't look at assets and income. Think about it. My MIL is on LTC medicaid now. But, since you know there is no income or asset limit, then why was she denied?

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Anonymous wrote:I haven’t looked into it, but my understand is that neither Medicaid nor Obamacare subsidies have asset tests. So if you can control your passive income, you can get subsidized health care.

Medicaid has both asset tests and savings limits. It varies by state. My MIL could not get it here with $900 a month income.

It definitely does for the Medicaid that covers LTC, including a 5 year look-back, etc etc. But I'm not aware of an asset test for straight Medicaid for the under-65 crowd.

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Anonymous wrote:How much longer until your kids can get their own insurance? Are you 50s now or still in your mid 40s?

We are almost 50 now. It is essentially the only ppo. Kaiser is the other option.

Why not Kaiser? I have it and like it.

+1. Kaiser is great!

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t looked into it, but my understand is that neither Medicaid nor Obamacare subsidies have asset tests. So if you can control your passive income, you can get subsidized health care.

Medicaid has both asset tests and savings limits. It varies by state. My MIL could not get it here with $900 a month income.

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Anonymous wrote:Uh that's why people don't retire in their mid 40s with kids?? Even most of the FIRE community seems to be people who are single/married w/o kids or kids who are independent.

If you wanted to retire bc you could afford it bc DH sold a tech company for billions -- congrats -- then pay the 52k/yr for insurance and stop complaining.

+1.

Where was the complaint?

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Yeah, so this is why I plan to early retire to Europe where I can get nearly free healthcare.

Whereabouts? It's not easy in many countries to get permanent residency. People assume they can just flounce into any country and oh, won't they just be so glad to have you? No. Especially when you're going to leech on a system you haven't paid into.

Portugal is widely considered one of the best EU countries for expats to retire to... and guess what! You have to provide proof of health insurance and pay for your own health insurance for at least the first 5 years. You aren't eligible to participate in their publicly-funded health care until (and unless) you become a permanent citizen which can take more than 5 years too.

I have an Irish passport - do u think I still have to wait 5 years?

1 or 2 years depending on how you establish residency.

Signed --
Irish woman who just brought her dad back to US for cataract surgery -- Irish wait time for it was 18 months or 6 months with private insurance

Yeah, so the European system is way better for young retirees, until they get too old -- at which point Medicare is better system in terms of benefits/access.

We retired mid-40’s and moved to Portugal (only on US ppts). On year 3 now, and will apply for citizenship in 2 more years. True, we cannot access the virtually free public health care system, but private comprehensive insurance for a family of 3 here is 250€/month. Wait times depend a lot on what you’re looking for. I’ve had 2 elective surgeries that cost me 15€ copay + ~200€ each and were scheduled in <1 month from first assessment appointment. Was it as luxurious as a Swiss clinic? No. But the quality of care was at least as good as anything I’ve seen in the US.

Can I ask -- what are you doing for schooling -- I assume family of three means you have a child?

Private international school. IB curriculum - costs ~12k/ year, which is still reasonable vs what we would have paid in DC.

Would you do it again -- it's kind of what I am interested in doing -- so I am curious. Thanks!!!!!!!

In a heartbeat! I live 30m from the ocean, have met lovely people here, QOL is so much better than before. DS is prob 50-50 in whether he wants to apply to uni in the EU vs US. But we’ve saved enough for college in case of the latter, so not too worried. No regrets!

We want to do this too, but can never afford early retirement in US because of insurance. Can you please share which town in Portugal? Was it easy to obtain residency? Are you allowed to work at all? Thank you!

OP isn't asking for empathy- they are just pointing out the high cost of insurance for others who may be considering early retirements.

We might retire from our high stress jobs at a youngish age because we have been able to save enough- however, we will likely have one of us work in a non-stressful (and probably not high paying) in order to get insurance.

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Yeah, so this is why I plan to early retire to Europe where I can get nearly free healthcare.

Whereabouts? It's not easy in many countries to get permanent residency. People assume they can just flounce into any country and oh, won't they just be so glad to have you? No. Especially when you're going to leech on a system you haven't paid into.

Portugal is widely considered one of the best EU countries for expats to retire to... and guess what! You have to provide proof of health insurance and pay for your own health insurance for at least the first 5 years. You aren't eligible to participate in their publicly-funded health care until (and unless) you become a permanent citizen which can take more than 5 years too.

I have an Irish passport - do u think I still have to wait 5 years?

Yes, maybe not five years but you will have to establish residency for a while.

In the UK you pay $1000 for 2.5 years to get free NHS. We looked it up. Spouse is dual citizen. We also want to retire early and healthcare here is the only roadblock we have, so we are keeping UK as an option for retirement.

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Anonymous wrote:What are you going to do when Obamacare totally collapses? We are on that path thanks to our lovely government.

Obamacare was designed to collapse. Don't blame Republicans because they pointed this out before it was passed.

I'll blame Republicans for actively trying to kill it without providing a replacement.

Anonymous wrote:What are you going to do when Obamacare totally collapses? We are on that path thanks to our lovely government.

Obamacare was designed to collapse. Don't blame Republicans because they pointed this out before it was passed.

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t looked into it, but my understand is that neither Medicaid nor Obamacare subsidies have asset tests. So if you can control your passive income, you can get subsidized health care.

Yes, that is what I wrote on page 2:

You need to start reading the ER bloggers to see how you game the system into giving you cheap insurance. Root of Good is one playing the game to fine effect, 2 million in assets and gets health insurance for pennies.