I've been on the road 7 years (no other home) and have used my parents' address in MT as my home address. My vehicles are registered there. They're now moving to Mexico full-time selling their house, and I'm wondering where I should declare myself for health insurance coverage. Going to take a look at the Affordable Care thing this weekend. I spend a lot of time in CA, Occasionally AZ, MT. Other spots I visit less frequently. I literally won't have a place to declare as a home base once they've moved. But they are still there for now. Any thoughts on this? I have friends in MT and WA state which may be willing/able to let me use their address as my home address if that helps at all. The friend in MT in on the other side of the state.Thanks...Also wondering if you have a preference for auto/rig insurance. Progressive signed me up knowing I was on the road most of the year then I got rear-ended last May and they dropped me because the accident happened in CA. Then I was dumb enough to bring up my rig and they said, "Yeah, you'll lose that too when it's up for renewal."

Joining the Escapees is one popular route. Then use your Livingston,TX address as your "home".

You've only got 3 days left..deadline for ACA is March 31st....MondayAfter that date you have to wait until mid-Nov to sign up. But you will be paying a tax penalty.FL, SD & TX are Full Time RV friendly states....some issues with ACA Med. coverage and I don't know that you can meet 'residency' requirements by Monday.

Try www.myrvmail.com in Crestview Florida. They will assist setting up an address and with mail forwarding. National Interstate Insurance insures full timers and tow vehicles or toads. No state tax in FL.

I would look into the following:Which "location" has the best situation for me?Which has the lowest taxes?Which has the best health care coverage?Which has the best services I need?Then find a friend or mail forwarding service in that state.Common states are: Texas, South Dakota, Montana and Florida

Old-Biscuit wrote:You've only got 3 days left..deadline for ACA is March 31st....MondayAfter that date you have to wait until mid-Nov to sign up. But you will be paying a tax penalty.FL, SD & TX are Full Time RV friendly states....some issues with ACA Med. coverage and I don't know that you can meet 'residency' requirements by Monday.Sorry, not true. Got extended again until at least mid April, and then if you don't have it, you merely answer the question... Did you look for it and couldn't find it? Says they will not be enforcing it or verifying anyones answer.Az is supposedly the 3rd lowest premium state for health insurance since they expanded Medicade, and if you can get an unicorporated County like Kingman, there is no smog check on vehicles. Vehicle insurance rates are dirt cheap also. Good luck. Safe travels.

Health insurance -- where to call home when I apply?

CloudDriver
Explorer
Mar 29, 2014
Interesting write-up on the ACA and its effects on full timers here.
cannesdo
Explorer
Mar 29, 2014
Thanks everyone, and especially CloudDriver for that link! Really helpful!

My question now is this. Why does everyone only mention Texas, SD and Florida. Do I even need to physically go to Texas in order to set up my residency there, aside from eventually registering the vehicles? And when I do register there do I have to go to Livingston? Can I register anywhere in TX (like El Paso?) Can I sign up with the Escapees thing, get the mail forwarding, sign up for the ACA insurance and call myself a Texan? The ACA is cheaper in AZ, which is closer to my usual haunts, which is why I thought that would be a better fit for me. What would be the advantages of going with TX over AZ?

Sorry, I'm new to a lot of this. Was sick much of my life and my dad took care of a lot of this stuff and there's a learning curve.

Thanks so much for your help!
BarbaraOK
Explorer
Mar 30, 2014
The reason people talk about Florida, SD, and TX when it comes to fulltiming is that none of those states have state income tax and all have good, reliable mail services with addresses that suffice for legal physical addresses.

For Texas, you can join Escapees (www.escapees.com), get the address (mail service) set up and register your vehicles by mail with the Polk County Assessors office and get your plates, etc. Once you have done that, you can get your driver's license at any DPS office in the state - like El Paso. Any state that you move into will require you to physically be there for your driver's license.

But, I don't think you can get it all accomplished in one day.

Barb
Jfet
Explorer
Apr 08, 2014
As some additional info, I believe moving to a different state counts as an event that lets you sign up for ACA at any point in the year (thus you can really ignore the deadlines if you are moving). You may want to check that but I am pretty sure it is true.
SkiMore
Explorer
Apr 08, 2014
Jfet wrote:
As some additional info, I believe moving to a different state counts as an event that lets you sign up for ACA at any point in the year (thus you can really ignore the deadlines if you are moving). You may want to check that but I am pretty sure it is true.

I think you are correct. There are a couple of other things that qualify also.
2oldman
Explorer II
Apr 08, 2014
cannesdo wrote:
And when I do register there do I have to go to Livingston?
Join Escapees. This is their business.
lbrjet
Explorer
Apr 08, 2014
Jfet wrote:
As some additional info, I believe moving to a different state counts as an event that lets you sign up for ACA at any point in the year (thus you can really ignore the deadlines if you are moving). You may want to check that but I am pretty sure it is true.

Not sure about this. I know once you have insurance through the ACA you can sign up in your new state, but not sure if it applies to first time sign ups.
SkiMore
Explorer
Apr 08, 2014
Jfet wrote:
As some additional info, I believe moving to a different state counts as an event that lets you sign up for ACA at any point in the year (thus you can really ignore the deadlines if you are moving). You may want to check that but I am pretty sure it is true.

https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/qualifying-life-event/
Qualifying Life Event

A change in your life that can make you eligible for a Special Enrollment Period to enroll in health coverage. Examples of qualifying life events are moving to a new state, certain changes in your income, and changes in your family size (for example, if you marry, divorce, or have a baby).

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