Health insurance for youngsters

I have been looking around at health care plans as DH and I will be going full time in January 2014 at the age of 47. A few things I have learned...

Maintaining our current insurance through COBRA is much more expensive then going to the marketplace for the exact same plan. People who think the cost of insurance is going to skyrocket don't realize how much their employer is currently paying for their insurance (which shouldn't change under ACA).

400% of poverty level is around $60K a year for a couple. Below this, a couple is eligible for rebates under the Affordable Care Act.

The state of Maryland, for 30 years, is one of the few states that regulates health care costs. Due to this, insurance is cheaper than most states. Significantly cheaper than some states. We will have have to weigh our state income tax payments against the increased cost of health insurance if changing residency.

BC/BS offers a "briefcase" plan that allows the insured to use insurance outside their home area at the same coverage levels. I noticed many plans only cover 50% of any charges outside of their home area. A significant medical event could cause major financial problems.

Walmart offers a $4 prescription program. This is cheaper than my current prescription plan. In fact, for the drugs I must take, it is cheaper to pay out of pocket for 90 days than it is to go through my prescription plan in 30 day increments. the plan is limited to generics and those are further limited.

We are still looking at our options and are hoping that, in October, when the exchanges go live, we will be better able to gauge our health care costs. Currently our plan is to go with a high deductible plan that covers 100% after that and is good across the country.

http://www.hca.wa.gov/Pages/reduced_cost.aspx explains "Affordable Health Care"
Note that the Washington "Basic Health" Plan is full and you have to income quality. Bottom line is that if you don't qualify for Medicaid, Medicare, or employer health plans you will be forced to buy health insurance on the open market at very high rates. If you don't buy the type of plan the Affordable Health Care act says you should buy, you will be taxed a penalty. If you don't buy insurance at all, the IRS will assess a penalty, up to $2000 per year and they have the ability to enforce the penalty. Lots of people above the poverty line will be shocked when they realize what they have to pay for insurance. You can get info on the government websites. You don't have to take anyone's word for it. I am not against Affordable Health Care. I am on Medicare and have a supplemental policy and this won't affect me. This post is for info only. Get the facts.

We have a health savings account with BCBS primarily to take care of catastrophic events that could cost a fortune. We have a $10,000 deductible - per family, not per person. After that, the costs are covered 100%. We are 63 & 62. The premiums just went up almost $90.00 per month and are now $663.00. The problem you'll have are pre-existing conditions if you have any. Because we have some, we can't shop around to see if we can find cheaper premiums. Our pre-existing conditions wouldn't be covered. So, this is pretty much what we're stuck with until 2014, and we'll see what happens then.

Try http://www.wellspringbenefitsgroup.com/Home

with a Generation America membership (http://www.generationamerica.com) you can get discounts too. Generation America is a conservative alternative to AARP.

They have coverage in all 50 states.

Trying to keep out of the political fray, what ARE those of you - especially those under 65 - doing for affordable care. As a cancer survivor of almost 5 years, I know I cannot buy additional Life Insurance until after 7 years, so wonder what the Healthcare Insurance outlook will be. I'm thinking of retiring next year at age 60 (wife 58)and this will be a big determining factor.

PS ObamaCare only guarantees coverage - but never specified cost.